What Happened on Menards Drive
A bicyclist was struck by a vehicle on Menards Drive in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, on the night of Tuesday, September 22, 2026. The driver left the scene and was found a short distance away, according to WFIE 14 News[1]. The Evansville Police Department investigated and filed charges.
WFIE 14 News reported that the bicyclist was riding southbound when a northbound vehicle hit a curb several times, crossed into the southbound lane, and struck the bicycle. The driver continued and stopped in a nearby Schnucks parking lot, where officers located the vehicle and driver. The crash happened after dark. Tri-State Homepage[2] and Yahoo News[3] also carried accounts of the incident.
Police identified the driver as George Parish. WFIE 14 News reported that Parish told officers she had consumed three glasses of wine before driving and that a breath test registered a blood alcohol concentration of .110. Parish was arrested and accused of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment, and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury. Those charges are accusations. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, and the criminal case is separate from any civil injury claim.
The bicyclist was taken to a hospital. The hospital was not named, and the reporting did not describe the nature or severity of the bicyclist's injuries. Neither the bicyclist's name nor age has been released.
What Should Accident Victims Do Next?
A crash involving a bicycle, alleged impaired driving, and a driver leaving the scene presents several issues at once. Get appropriate medical attention and follow the care instructions you receive. Keep copies of medical records, bills, discharge papers, and written restrictions. Insurers may question whether later complaints are connected to the crash when there are gaps in care, so accurate records matter.
Preserve the bicycle and riding gear. Photograph the bicycle, helmet, clothing, and other damaged items before repair or disposal. The damage pattern may help explain how the impact occurred. A practical overview of the early steps is available in the firm's guide on what to do after being hit by a car while riding a bicycle.
Ask the Evansville Police Department for the crash report and case number. A crash report can usually be obtained after the investigation, but it does not determine civil liability. Chemical-testing records, officer observations, body-camera footage, and nearby business video may also matter. Some records can be overwritten or lost, which makes timely preservation requests important.
Identify the driver's insurance and review any auto policies that may cover you or your household. A criminal charge does not establish that adequate insurance is available. Depending on the policy, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply to a bicyclist who was not inside a vehicle. The firm's bicycle accident page explains additional claim issues that injured riders may face.
Be careful with a request for a recorded statement from the other driver's insurer while your injuries and the evidence are still being evaluated. Write down what you remember about your route, lane position, traffic, lighting, and the moments before the collision. Keep the account factual and do not guess.
Why Location Matters in Indiana Injury Claims
Menards Drive is in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, and the Evansville Police Department responded and investigated. An Indiana injury lawsuit is ordinarily filed where the crash occurred or where a defendant lives, which could make the Vanderburgh County courts relevant here.
Nothing in the reporting suggests that roadway design or lighting contributed to this crash. If evidence in another case points to possible responsibility by a city, county, or state agency, much shorter notice rules can apply. Indiana Code 34-13-3-8[4] generally requires written notice within 180 days for a claim against a political subdivision, while Indiana Code 34-13-3-6[5] generally requires notice within 270 days for a claim against the state.
Indiana Code 34-51-2-6[6] governs comparative fault. An injured person whose own fault is greater than 50 percent recovers nothing; otherwise, the recovery is reduced by that person's percentage of fault. Insurers may question a bicyclist's lane position, lighting, or reflective clothing, so physical evidence and accurate scene documentation may become important. You can read more about the evidence involved in proving an Indiana crash claim.
Indiana Code 9-25-4-5[7] sets minimum auto liability limits at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Indiana Code 27-7-5-2[8]. Whether that coverage applies depends on the policy and the facts.
Indiana Code 7.1-5-10-15.5 may impose responsibility on a person or business that furnished alcohol when it had actual knowledge that the person served was visibly intoxicated and the intoxication was a proximate cause of the injury. The reporting does not state where or from whom the alcohol was obtained, so there is no basis here to conclude that the statute applies.
Most Indiana personal injury claims must be filed within two years under Indiana Code 34-11-2-4[9]. Based on the reported September 22, 2026 crash date, that ordinary period would run to September 22, 2028. A pending criminal case, open insurance file, or continuing police investigation does not by itself extend the deadline.
How Delventhal Law Office Can Help
Delventhal Law Office, LLC is a Fort Wayne personal injury law firm founded by attorney Chad E. Delventhal in 2009. The firm handles Indiana bicycle, impaired-driving, and hit-and-run injury claims. It can request reports and testing records, send preservation requests for available video, document the scene, organize medical proof, and review the liability and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage that may apply.
Insurance companies may aggressively defend fault, causation, and the extent of an injury. Delventhal Law Office can explain those disputes in plain language and evaluate how Indiana deadlines affect a claim. You can request a free case evaluation.
This post is based on public reporting, the investigation may be ongoing, and nothing here is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
Sources
- WFIE 14 News (14news.com) ↩
- Tri-State Homepage (tristatehomepage.com) ↩
- Yahoo News (yahoo.com) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-13-3-8 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 34-13-3-6 (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 34-11-2-4 (iga.in.gov) ↩
