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3 killed, including 12-year-old girl, in wrong-way crash on I-465 ramp

IMPD said before the crash, the wrong-way driver was being chased by police.

INDIANAPOLIS — Three people died and another person was injured in a wrong-way crash on the Interstate 465 ramp to Rockville Road Saturday morning.

The incident started with an attempted arrest near Washington Street and Lynhurst Drive on Indianapolis' west side. 

An IMPD spokesman told 13News that members of IMPD's violent crime task force were trying to arrest a suspect, whom the Marion County Coroner's Office identified as 35-year-old Cory Lemasters. This attempted arrest led to Lemasters taking off in a large SUV and being chased by police.

During the chase, Lemasters took Washington Street to I-465 and was driving the wrong way on the interstate. 

One officer followed the wrong-way driver onto the interstate and continued chasing him. That's when, IMPD said, the officer was told to call off the chase. 

The officer slowed down but continued to follow the suspect. 

Around 11:30 a.m., Lemasters attempted to get off the highway by going the wrong way onto the entrance ramp from Rockville Road to I-465 southbound and was in a head-on crash. 

The driver of the other vehicle died at the scene. IMPD said three people in the other car were seriously injured, two of those were children.

The Marion County Coroner's Office identified the man who died at the scene as 40-year-old William Tetmeyer.

One of the children injured in Saturday's crash died Monday from their injuries. The Marion County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 12-year-old Georgia Tetmeyer.

Lemasters was taken to the hospital in critical condition but died from his injuries Monday, according to the Marion County Coroner's Office. 

The Wayne Township Fire Department helped respond the to crash. In a tweet, the fire department said crews "worked tirelessly to extricate all the victims and transport them to area trauma centers."

IMPD is taking lead on the investigation. Its internal affairs department is investigating whether procedure was followed in the police chase. 

The southbound ramp onto I-465 was closed for several hours, the Wayne Township Fire Department said. According to INDOT, the ramp opened back up around 3 p.m. 

NOTE: Indiana State Police initially said two people died in the crash. IMPD corrected this information Saturday afternoon, later saying one person had died and four were injured. 

NOTE: The Marion County Coroner's Office initially identified the wrong-way driver as Cody Lemasters instead of Cory Lemasters.

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