Docs in murder case: When car reversed into woman, it ‘was not an accident’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Witnesses told police a 21-year-old woman last month backed her car into a 28-year-old woman, and officers quickly figured out “the incident was not an accident,” court documents say.
Mary Adame died July 24, the day after police found her injured and medics took her to a hospital in critical condition.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Monday arrested Jamaria Clay, of Indianapolis, after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office last week charged her with murder.
IMPD was called about 7:50 p.m. July 23 to what was described as an accident with serious bodily injuries and a possible hit-and-run in the 1100 block of South Chester Avenue. That’s in a residential area southwest of the intersection of Southeastern and South Grant avenues on the city’s east side.
Court documents prepared by an IMPD detective outlined what police learned.
A passenger in the red car driven by Adame told police that they were run off the road by a gold car, and Adame was forced to drive into the grass. The driver of the gold car, who police believe was Clay, parked in the middle of the street and got out of her car. Adame also got out of her car and went to the gold car.
The passenger said the two drivers then got into a fight, and the driver of the gold car pepper-sprayed the passenger and Adame, and threatened Adame verbally. The passenger also saw a small child in the backseat of the gold car, and Clay told them she’d been taking her child home.
Adame and the passenger began to walk away when they turned to see the gold car backing up, striking Adame and pinning her between the two cars. The passenger told police the gold car’s driver then pulled forward and again backed into Adame. Then, the gold car left the scene.
Two people who lived in the area told police similar stories about the fight in the street and the gold car hitting Adame.
Police in short order found the gold Passat car in a nearby neighborhood, and detained its owner, Clay.
While police were apprehending her, Clay told a relative that the red car “near hit me head on.” She also said she’d pepper-sprayed Adame and the passenger because they appeared to be threats. Clay also told the relative she’d put the car into “reverse” but didn’t realize she’d hit anyone, and admitted she’s left the scene of the crash.
An autopsy determined Adame’s liver had been cut and her body had extensive trauma due to blunt force. The coroner ruled the case a homicide.
Digital information taken from the gold Passat showed the car had traveled 85 feet from a still position to an impact, which meant the Passat and Adame’s red car were about five car lengths apart before the fatal collision. A report on the digital information also showed the Passat went to 100% acceleration pressure for 2 seconds and traveled 17 mph before hitting Adame and her red car.
Clay’s initial hearing was set for Wednesday morning in Marion Superior Court 28. Clay was being held on no bond, according to online court records, but she was not listed in online jail records as an inmate in a Marion County facility on Tuesday night.
Anyone with information on the case was asked to contact Detective Michael McWhorter at the homicide office at 317-327-3475 or at michael.mcwhorter@indy.gov.
