Deputy in fatal I-65 crash had hit pedestrian before

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy driving a department vehicle that struck and killed a person walking on an interstate ramp Sunday night is the same deputy who hit a pedestrian in fall 2011.

Erich Gephart was driving the Marion County Jail transport vehicle with one inmate inside when he struck Adam McCarty, 31, who was using a gas can to fill the tank of a pickup truck on the southbound Interstate 65 ramp at 29th Street, according to police reports. McCarty was pronounced dead at the scene.

MCSO said the truck did not have lights or emergency flashers on, and there were no flares, reflective triangles or other safety devices used to alert other motorists. McCarty's driver license had been suspended indefinitely in December 2011.

“We are not trying to shift the blame. We are just putting the facts out there,” Chief Deputy Eva Talley-Sanders said.

Gephart was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital to submit to a blood test, as required by state law and MCSO policy in such a situation. There was no indication, MCSO said in a news release, that Gephart was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Gephart was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and an internal affairs investigation by MCSO.

Gephart was also driving a MCSO transport vehicle in November 2011 when he struck a pedestrian on the near north side of Indianapolis, near Kessler Boulevard and Spring Mill Road.

In that crash, Charles Hill and his 10-year-old daughter were walking in the 900 block of Fox Hill Drive, returning home from a nearby park, when Gephart struck Hill, who was critically injured. Gephart was placed on administrative leave, but was put back on duty in February.

Hill's family sued the county in April. The Hill family was shocked to learn something so similar happened again.

“They said my son was wearing dark clothes,” Barbara Hill said. “I definitely feel that he should not be allowed to drive a tax payer’s vehicle.”

Her son has spent the last year recovering at rehab facility in Illinois. Before that, he spent time at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana.

Charles Hill says he is worried the Deputy will hit someone else if he is allowed back on the job. Slurred speech is one of the side effects from his accident last fall.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Meanwhile, as Barbara Hill watches her son struggle to improve, she mourns for the family of Adam McCarty.

“My heart goes out to the McCarty family. I am thankful for my sons life but I'm very sorry their son lost his life,” Barbara Hill said. “If the Marion County Sheriff’s department had done what was right. This incident could’ve bee avoided.”