Man in police chase, fatal crash charged

LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — A 24-year-old man faced charges Tuesday in a Monday police chase that spanned two counties and ended in the death of a driver not involved in the chase.

Marcel Laray Carter was stable at an Indianapolis-area hospital and faced charges of reckless homicide and resisting law enforcement, Indianapolis metropolitan police confirmed Tuesday. Online court records show Carter was charged with two counts of resisting law enforcement and one count of reckless driving.

No mugshot of Carter was available Tuesday afternoon, and no initial court hearing was listed in online records.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said its officers with the Criminal Gun Intelligence Center were in the area of Newport Drive and Pendleton Pike on a federal firearms investigation. They attempted to stop a suspect vehicle, and the chase began around 12:50 p.m.

The crash happened just after 1 p.m. at Oaklandon Road and Pendleton Pike.

Michael Hewitt with IMPD Public Affairs said the pursuit began in a Lawrence neighborhood. IMPD was trying to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect facing a felony charge on a firearms violation.

The suspect was driving a navy blue Dodge Charger truck, which received front-end damage.

The truck crashed into the front, driver’s side of a black sport-utility vehicle, which also suffered front-end damage. The SUV driver, identified Tuesday as 64-year-old Charles Alexander, died after being taken to a hospital and a passenger was injured.

Hancock County authorities took over the chase when it went into the county east of Indianapolis, Hewitt said.

When the chase came into Lawrence, IMPD officers were not actively pursuing the suspect when the crash happened, Hewitt said.

The chase lasted 14 minutes.

IMPD said the truck disregarded the traffic signal at Oaklandon Road and Pendleton Pike when it struck the SUV.

Following department policy, IMPD’s internal affairs unit will investigate the fatal crash.