A stolen car left the roadway and became submerged in Fall Creek near downtown Indianapolis on Sunday, September 13, 2026, after a wrong-way drive on Interstate 65. Two people were seriously injured. The account comes from WRTV[1], which reported an Indiana State Police release, as well as WISH-TV[2], WTHR[3], and WANE 15[4]. The investigation is ongoing.
What happened
According to WRTV, an Indiana State Police trooper found a stolen car near Interstate 70 and Post Road on the far east side of Indianapolis just after 9 a.m. that Sunday. The driver sped away when the trooper attempted a stop, traveled westbound on I-70 toward downtown, and then entered the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 while traveling south. State Police said the trooper terminated the pursuit because of the wrong-way driving.
The car was found a short time later crashed and submerged in Fall Creek near the Interstate 65 southbound ramp to West 21st Street. First responders pulled a female passenger from the sunken vehicle, and she was taken to a hospital in very critical condition. A man swam to shore and was taken into custody. WTHR described one person as critical and one as seriously injured.
No party has been named by Indiana State Police, and no charges have been published. State Police detectives and crash reconstructionists are investigating. The southbound ramp to 21st Street was closed for several hours. Nothing published in the cited reports establishes impairment or explains why the car left the roadway.
What accident victims should do next
Get medical care and follow the treatment plan. Medical records can document an injury and the care it requires.
Identify the driver, the vehicle owner, and every potentially applicable insurance policy. A passenger's legal position differs from the driver's, and responsibility must be evaluated from the evidence. When a vehicle was reported stolen, the owner's liability policy may dispute coverage for its use. The injured person's personal or household uninsured motorist coverage may then matter. Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Ind. Code 27-7-5-2, but whether a policy applies depends on its terms and the facts.
You can also request the crash report after it becomes available. A police report is not a final decision about civil responsibility, but it can help identify witnesses, vehicles, insurance information, and investigative findings. This guide explains how to obtain an Indiana crash report. Reconstruction records and other evidence may also matter, so timely preservation requests are important.
A criminal case and a civil injury claim follow separate paths. An injured person should not assume that a prosecution will answer the insurance or compensation questions. If an insurer asks for a statement or broad authorization, review the practical concerns involving a recorded statement or medical release.
Why location matters in Indiana injury claims
This crash happened in Marion County at Interstate 65 and the West 21st Street exit ramp. The pursuit began near Interstate 70 and Post Road. The investigating agency is the Indiana State Police, a state agency, which makes it important to understand that different deadlines can apply depending on who may be legally responsible.
Most Indiana personal injury claims must be filed within two years under Ind. Code 34-11-2-4. For an injury on September 13, 2026, the draft identifies a deadline on or about September 13, 2028. A claim against the State of Indiana requires written notice within 270 days under Ind. Code 34-13-3-6. A claim against a city, county, town, or other political subdivision requires notice within 180 days under Ind. Code 34-13-3-8. You can read more about an Indiana government tort claim notice.
Nothing published so far establishes a claim against the Indiana State Police. State Police said the trooper terminated the pursuit before the crash, and no cited source describes the pursuit as a cause of the crash. The shorter notice rules matter only if the developed facts support a claim involving a governmental entity.
Indiana's Comparative Fault Act, Ind. Code 34-51-2-6, generally bars an injured person from recovering when that person's fault is greater than 50 percent. Otherwise, recovery is reduced by the person's percentage of fault. Government defendants are governed by different rules. The facts must be investigated before fault can be assigned to anyone.
The insurance question may be equally important. When a vehicle was stolen, the injured person may need to examine personal and household policies, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and medical payments coverage. The specific policy language controls. Delventhal Law Office's guide to uninsured-driver claims in Indiana explains the records and coverage documents that may matter.
How Delventhal Law Office can help
Delventhal Law Office, LLC is a personal injury law firm in Fort Wayne, Indiana, founded by attorney Chad E. Delventhal in 2009. The firm can obtain available crash and reconstruction records, identify potentially applicable insurance policies, evaluate comparative-fault questions, and track the deadlines supported by the facts. Insurance carriers may aggressively defend disputed fault and coverage issues, particularly when a stolen vehicle or government agency is involved.
If you were injured in an Indianapolis crash, you can request a free case evaluation. Delventhal Law Office serves communities across Indiana.
This post is based on public reporting, the investigation may be ongoing, and nothing here is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
