Man hit, killed by sheriff’s department vehicle on I-74 identified
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — The man who was hit and killed by a Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Aug. 14 has been identified by the Hendricks County coroner as 21-year-old Mateo Ruiz-Gomez.
Shortly before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 14, Brownsburg police were dispatched to Interstate 74 eastbound near the 69.5-mile marker on a report of a pedestrian struck.
Officers learned from initial investigation that a Toyota, driven by Ruiz-Gomez, traveling west on the highway left the roadway and collided with the median cable barrier.
Ruiz-Gomez got out of the Toyota and walked into the eastbound lanes of I-74 for “reasons unknown,” Brownsburg Police Department said in a release.
Hendrick’s County Sheriff’s Deputy Damen Owens then hit Ruiz-Gomez with his police vehicle. Investigators do not believe the deputy was impaired.
“The deputy remained on scene and was transported to Hendricks Regional Hospital in Brownsburg where a voluntary and consensual blood draw was administered,” Brownsburg police said.
Brownsburg police shared in a release Wednesday that investigators believe alcohol may have been a factor in Ruiz-Gomez’s crash.
All lanes of I-74 eastbound between 56th Street and County Road North 1000 East were blocked for more than three hours.
This story has been updated with the identity of the deputy.