2 killed in northwest side crash identified

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The victims killed in a Friday morning crash on the city’s northwest side have been identified.

Luis Perez, 20, and 27-year-old Joan Bothwell Diaz were traveling in a red Mustang going more than 80 mph before Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers attempted to pull the pair over.

According to IMPD, an officer, just before 1 a.m., was headed north on Lafayette Road in an unmarked police vehicle when he was passed the vehicle.

At that time, the officer turned on his lights in order to pull the Mustang over to conduct a traffic stop. The Mustang did appear to be complying with the officer in the area of 34th Street and Lafayette Road but it then unexpectedly sped off at a high rate of speed. A short police chase then ensued.

Police said because of the high rate of speed and the increased risk of injury to the public, the officer on the scene ended the chase. But about a mile from where the chase was terminated, the officer came upon a crash scene. IMPD said the Mustang had slammed into a tree.

Crews, upon arriving at the scene of the crash, pronounced Perez and Diaz dead. A third person, who was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition, is expected to survive.