Source: INDOT / other
UPDATE: In honor of the fallen trooper, you can donate to the Aaron Smith Memorial Fund at any Indiana Members Credit Union, or by calling 800-556-9268. You can also donate online here.
The money will benefit his family.
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UPDATE: State police have charged two people in the death of a state police trooper in Plainfield.
On Wednesday Eddie P. Jones, Jr., 18 years of age from Sikeston, Missouri, has been charged with murder a he was driving the stolen Chevy Traverse that hit Trooper Aaron Smith along Ronald Reagan Parkway.
Smith had been trying to deploy stop sticks on the highway when Jones hit Smith.
DeMareon L. Curry, 19, who was in the car with Jones is also charged with auto theft.
There was a 15-year-old girl in the car as well, she as not been charged
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Original story:
PLAINFIELD, Ind. — An Indiana State Trooper was killed Wednesday evening in Hendricks County.
It was near the town of Plainfield where Trooper Aaron Smith was killed during a police chase along Ronald Reagan Parkway. ISP Superintendent Doug Carter said that Smith was hit and killed by the suspect.
“He was placing stop sticks on Ronald Reagan Parkway to try to stop a fleeing vehicle that was stolen with multiple occupants,” Carter said. “His shift partner saw the whole thing happen. We have, obviously, in-car camera footage, we have body camera footage. That’s all being reviewed.”
The collision happened around 8:40 p.m. near Plainfield. Carter could not say much about exactly what it was that led to the chase and subsequent collision.
In a news release later in the evening, State Police say Smith was assisting in trying to stop the stolen vehicle before it reached the I-70 interchange. The suspect driving the car hit Smith as he was deploying the stop sticks.
“He’d been on the department about five years,” Carter said holding back tears. “He didn’t survive tonight. He has a young wife who is absolutely adorable. I would trade places if I could take away her pain.”
Troopers have yet to release any details on who the suspect was and who was driving the car that hit Smith. Investigators believe the driver had two people under 18 in the car with them.
State police plan to investigate and then turn their finding over to the Hendricks County prosecutor who will then decide on what charges will be filed.
Smith was a native of Whiteland and a 2008 graduate of Whiteland High School. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation/airway management with a minor in unmanned aerial systems from Indiana State University in 2014. He joined the Army National Guard in 2011 and previously worked in construction and insurance.
Smith is the second state trooper to be hit and killed by a suspect in a fleeing car this year. In March, Senior Trooper James Bailey was hit and killed while deploying tire-deflating devices on I-69 in DeKalb County.
