INDIANAPOLIS — An IMPD officer and the city of Indianapolis are named in a federal lawsuit stemming from a fatal crash in May 2020.
On May 6, 2020, Officer Jonathon Henderson was driving to roll call when he hit 23-year-old Ashlynn Lisby, who was walking near the ramp from South Harding Street to I-465 east on Indy's south side. Lisby, who was eight months pregnant at the time, was killed. Her baby was delivered by emergency C-section at the hospital but later died.
Marcus Lewis Jr., Lisby's boyfriend and father of the child, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana in May, alleging Henderson was speeding and made an illegal lane change before he hit Lisby with his patrol car.
Attorneys say Lewis and Lisby were walking northbound on the shoulder of Harding Street, just south of the ramp onto I-465 east around 9:30 that night. They were going to a motel where they were staying at the time.
Henderson, according to the suit, was driving northbound approaching the Thompson Road intersection. Once he passed the intersection, he sped up more than 30 mph over the speed limit and merged into the right turning lane over a solid white line. Then, attorneys say Henderson was looking in his rearview mirror and crossed over the fog line, onto the shoulder where Lisby and Lewis were walking.
Henderson told investigators he was looking in his rearview mirror at the time of the crash and did not see Lisby. According to data obtained from the police car's black box, Henderson was going 78 mph five seconds before he hit Lisby and 55 mph at the time of impact. The speed limit on the street is 45 mph.
Lisby was taken to Eskenazi Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her child, baby Marus, was born via emergency C-section alive, but died shortly after birth.
Lewis' attorneys claim IMPD tried to cover up the true actions in the incident and failed to adequately punish Henderson for his "reckless actions." They say a crash report lists the primary cause of the incident as "pedestrian's action" and makes no mention of Henderson's speeding, illegal lane shift, or driving on the shoulder.
Lewis is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney fees. He is also seeking a jury trial for Henderson's actions.