What WISH-TV reported about the guilty plea
A man has pleaded guilty in Marion Superior Court to charges arising from a December 23, 2023 crash at East Southport Road and Little Oak Lane on the south side of Indianapolis. The crash killed Avery May, 20, and injured Rylee White. The plea was entered on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, according to WISH-TV's I-Team reporting[1].
WISH-TV reported that Bradley Woods of Indianapolis pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, reckless homicide, and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. Woods admitted in court that he did not stay at the scene. White has mostly recovered but still has pain, according to the report.
Prosecutors dismissed the remaining counts as part of the plea, including the drunk-driving counts. WISH-TV reported that no blood draw was obtained on the night of the crash. Paige Woods is separately charged with obstruction of justice based on an allegation that she removed Bradley Woods' blood from the scene. Her case remains pending, and she is presumed innocent.
WISH-TV also reported that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department acknowledged a policy review concerning the failure to obtain a blood draw. Sentencing is set for October 19, 2026. Woods faces a 15-year sentence with a 10-year cap on prison time.
What you should do after a recent crash
This case is nearly three years old, and the deadlines governing a civil claim arising from it have passed. If you were hurt in a more recent crash, do not wait for the criminal process to finish before reviewing your civil options.
Get appropriate medical care and follow the treatment plan provided to you. Keep medical records, bills, photographs, insurance correspondence, and information about missed work together. A practical crash response checklist can help you organize the first steps.
Identify the investigating agency and request the crash report. A criminal charge, a crash report, and an accident reconstruction are different records. You can learn more about obtaining an Indiana police crash report, but remember that a police report does not decide civil liability.
Evidence can disappear quickly. Vehicle data, surveillance footage, photographs, witness information, and the vehicles themselves may become unavailable or be altered. Timely preservation requests matter, especially when a driver leaves the scene. The firm's guide to evidence and insurance after a hit-and-run explains why early action matters.
Why the civil deadline matters
A criminal prosecution and a civil claim are separate proceedings with different standards and deadlines. A guilty plea may be important evidence in a civil case. The dismissal of a criminal count does not, by itself, establish what happened because prosecutors must prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Most Indiana personal injury and wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the injury or death under Indiana Code 34-11-2-4[2]. For this December 23, 2023 crash, that period ran on or about December 23, 2025, before the guilty plea was entered. Indiana Code 34-23-1-1[3] and Indiana Code 34-23-1-2[4] govern wrongful death claims, including who may bring a claim and what may be recovered. If a family member died, the estate's personal representative ordinarily brings the claim.
Indiana uses modified comparative fault under Indiana Code 34-51-2-6[5]. An injured person whose fault is greater than 50 percent recovers nothing. Otherwise, any recovery is reduced by that person's percentage of fault. Fault disputes can be hotly contested, which makes early evidence collection important.
Coverage is separate from fault. Indiana requires minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage, under Indiana Code 9-25-4-5[6]. Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Indiana Code 27-7-5-2[7]. Depending on the policy, that coverage may apply to hit-and-run and unidentified-vehicle crashes. You can review the firm's plain-language guide to uninsured motorist claims in Indiana.
No source cited here reports that a government entity caused this crash. In other cases involving a government defendant, shorter notice rules may apply. Written notice generally must be provided within 180 days for a city, county, town, or other political subdivision under Indiana Code 34-13-3-8[8], and within 270 days for the State under Indiana Code 34-13-3-6[9].
How Delventhal Law Office can help
Delventhal Law Office, LLC is a personal injury law firm in Fort Wayne founded by attorney Chad E. Delventhal in 2009. The firm serves Fort Wayne and communities across Indiana. For people hurt because of another person's carelessness, Chad Delventhal can request available reports, send evidence-preservation notices, review applicable insurance policies, and track filing deadlines.
If you need advice about a recent crash, you can request a free case evaluation. Insurance companies may aggressively defend fault, injury, and coverage issues, so it helps to understand what records exist and what deadlines apply before making decisions.
This post is based on public reporting, the investigation or related proceedings may be ongoing, and nothing here is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
Sources
- WISH-TV's I-Team reporting (wishtv.com) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-11-2-4 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-23-1-1 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-23-1-2 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-51-2-6 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 9-25-4-5 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 27-7-5-2 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-13-3-8 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-13-3-6 (iga.in.gov) ↩
