Grandmother dies in crash with a fleeing shoplifting suspect

A theft suspect fleeing police ran a red light in Fountain Square and slammed his SUV into a pickup truck and car Monday morning, killing the 63-year-old woman driving the truck and seriously injuring two others.

Matthew Edmonds, 21, Indianapolis, is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, theft and driving while suspended with a prior conviction in the incident, which began shortly after 8 a.m. at the Walmart in Beech Grove and ended 12 minutes later at Prospect Street and State Avenue.

The crash killed Donna Niblock, 63, Indianapolis, who was pronounced dead at Eskenazi Hospital. Her 11-year-old grandson was listed in critical condition Monday at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. LaDonna Rogers, 37, Indianapolis, another passenger in the pickup driven by Niblock, was listed in serious condition at Eskenazi Hospital.

The driver of the other car was not injured.

Details of the theft-in-progress report that prompted Edmonds to flee police were not available Monday.

Beech Grove police received the report at 8:07 a.m. A responding officer spotted the suspect's vehicle, a silver Chevy Tahoe, leaving the store parking lot and began to follow it north in the 4600 block of South Emerson Avenue.

The Beech Grove officer activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop Edmonds but, instead of stopping, the vehicle sped off on Emerson. Beech Grove police briefly chased Edmonds — who was driving at a high rate of speed and briefly traveling west in the eastbound lanes of Raymond Street — before calling off the pursuit three minutes later because of safety concerns.

As police from Beech Grove chased Edmonds north on Emerson, then west on Raymond, the pursuit moved into the jurisdiction of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. A statement from IMPD said department officers, who share the same police radio frequency as Beech Grove officers, "were already aware of the initial theft run at the Walmart and subsequent pursuit headed towards Southeast District."

At 8:14 a.m., Beech Grove officials called off the pursuit as Edmond's SUV turned north on Perkins Avenue. At that point, IMPD officers also were instructed by a supervisor not to chase the SUV because of safety concerns.

"At this point due to children getting onto a school bus on Perkins Avenue, an IMPD supervisor made the determination for IMPD officers to also terminate the vehicle pursuit," the IMPD statement said.

Edmonds briefly evaded police after the pursuit was halted, but an IMPD officer on Pleasant Run Parkway soon spotted the SUV. The IMPD officer followed the SUV and provided radio updates to other officers in the area but did not have his siren on and was not traveling at a high rate of speed, said Lt. Richard Riddle, an IMPD spokesman.

Riddle said that it appears Edmonds saw the IMPD vehicle as he drove north on State "and actually sped up through this intersection" of Prospect and State, where he slammed into the pickup truck traveling west on Prospect. His SUV then careened into a sedan stopped at the intersection for a red light.

After the collision, Riddle said, Edmonds got out and tried to flee on foot. He was quickly arrested by officers in the area.

Edmonds, who listed a Gary address in recent police and court records, previously appeared in court in Marion County on several misdemeanor charges, including battery, criminal mischief and theft.

He pleaded guilty in 2013 to a theft charge and was sentenced to probation. Last July, Edmonds was arrested on charges that included criminal mischief and battery resulting in bodily injury. Edmonds agreed to a guilty plea on the criminal mischief charge, while the battery charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to a day in jail and was put on probation. A no contact order also was filed against him in connection with the case.

Gilbert Torres said he didn't see the crash Monday, but he heard the crunching metal as the vehicles collided in the intersection. After police arrived, Torres was among the dozens of community members who walked to the crash site to see what happened.

"I was just a few doors down on Prospect, so we heard the loud boom and all the craziness," Torres said. "I just can't believe it. And they said he was shoplifting? This isn't worth that. For a little kid to get hurt over shoplifting, that's crazy, man."

Pam Shireman had seen Edmonds fleeing police as she waited at a bus stop.

"I was standing there waiting for the bus (on Emerson), and all of a sudden I seen that silver Tahoe in the wrong lane, driving like 100 miles per hour into oncoming traffic," she said. "Me and the bus driver was praying that he didn't hit anybody head-on. Then we get up here on the bus and see ... it's sad. It's just horrible."

Even though police had called off the pursuit, "the psychology has already been put in motion" in the suspect's mind, said Ellen Deitz Tucker, spokeswoman for PursuitSafety, a national nonprofit working to reduce pursuit deaths and promote law enforcement alternatives to chasing nonviolent suspects.

At least one person dies, on average, every day in the United States in police pursuits, according to data from PursuitSafety. Innocent bystanders such as Niblock account for an average of three deaths a week, and one law enforcement officer dies on average every six weeks, Tucker said.

Many of those deaths occur after police have suspended chases, she said.

Star reporter Jill Disis contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

When IMPD is involved in pursuits

Indianapolis police officers have wide discretion to initiate pursuits in cases ranging from those involving felons to traffic infractions.

Although officers do not need permission to initiate a pursuit, a supervisor determines how long a pursuit should continue and when it should be terminated.

Before initiating and during the course of any pursuit, the pursuing officer and supervisors must consider the following:

Seriousness of the offense.

Knowledge of the identity of the pursued suspect(s).

Other occupants of vehicle (such as children).

Weather and lighting conditions.

Road conditions (such as intersections, traffic controls, overhead lighting, curves, hills, construction, etc.).

Density of vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Locality of pursuit (residential, highway, etc.).

Familiarity with area.

Nature of pursuit (such as the manner of operation of suspect vehicle, speeding, erratic or reckless driving, etc.).

Vehicle's speed.

Source: IMPD