INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana State Police trooper is on the mend after getting hit by a suspected drunk driver early Monday morning. He is expected to make a full recovery, ISP Sgt. John Perrine said Tuesday.
Trooper Keith Martin was outside his car, assisting Speedway Police and IMPD in the 2700 block of High School Road where a semi-trailer was on fire shortly before 3:30 a.m. Monday.
That's when 35-year-old Mayte Alaverez Rebollar, who was driving a silver Toyota Corolla, allegedly hit Martin and an IMPD officer.
Police said Rebollar drove away from the scene after hitting the officers. Shortly after, Speedway Police stopped the Toyota near 7500 Crawfordsville Road in Brownsburg. Officers noted damage to the vehicle consistent with the collision on High School Road, and they found open alcohol containers inside.
Officers arrested her on the probable cause of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crash causing injury.
In an update posted to Twitter Tuesday, Perrine said Martin suffered serious injuries but is expected to fully recover.
"Trooper Martin is the one paying the price, physically, mentally, emotionally," said Perrine.
Martin graduated the academy in December 2021. Perrine said three months ago, Martin was hit by a drunk driver.
The first incident happened while Martin was investigating a crash on I-65 southbound in Indianapolis. He was inside his car at the time when Perrine said a drunk driver hit him. Martin's car was totaled.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in 2019, 10,142 people were killed on roadways by a drunk driver. To put that into perspective, that's 29 people killed a day, or one person every 50 minutes.
"Emergency responders across the board — police, fire, tow truck operators, ambulance drivers — work in very dangerous situations alongside the highway," said Perrine. "But that danger gets substantially increased when somebody chooses to drink and drive."
The IMPD officer suffered minor injuries in the crash and was treated at the scene.
As of Wednesday evening, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office had not filed official charges against Rebollar.