A 19-year-old man accused of driving a stolen fleeing vehicle that struck and killed an Indiana State Police trooper last summer pleaded guilty Monday to resisting law enforcement.
A car theft charge filed against Demareon Curry will be dismissed as part of an agreement with Hendricks County prosecutors. The collision that killed Trooper Aaron N. Smith occurred in June 2023 on Ronald Reagan Parkway, just outside Indianapolis.
Curry’s sentence will be decided by a Hendricks County judge during a hearing on June 17, according to the settlement.
Eddie Pernell Jones, 19, is the suspected driver of the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse in which the police officer was struck. He is charged with murder, resisting law enforcement and auto theft in connection with Smith’s death.
Court records show a jury trial for Jones will begin in October.
Previous coverage: Car that fatally struck Indiana Trooper, stolen days earlier, driver held without bond
Six days before the fatal collision, Jones, Curry and a 15-year-old girl were at Jones’ mother’s home in Sikeston, Missouri, about 140 miles (230 kilometers) south of St. Louis. Jones’ mother fell asleep and the trio stole her Traverse, according to an affidavit for Jones’ arrest.
It’s unclear why they traveled to Indianapolis, but Jones told police they arrived on June 26 and slept in the car in a hotel parking lot.
On June 28, 2023, the three were parked in the Traverse at a gas station/McDonald’s on Kentucky Avenue near South High School Road on the southwest side of Indianapolis.
Curry warned the group that the police were behind them. Surveillance video showed an Indiana State Police trooper driving behind the Chevy Traverse. According to the affidavit, the officer received a report from a nearby license plate camera that the car had been stolen.
The officer activated his emergency lights and began giving verbal commands to the car’s occupants to put their hands out the windows. As the officer waited for reinforcements, Jones, Curry and the girl initially complied, dash camera footage showed.
More: Trooper killed while trying to stop fleeing car saved two lives in 2022 and served in the National Guard
Video showed the Traverse backing into one of the police cars and then hitting another vehicle in the McDonald’s parking lot before fleeing. At that point, two ISP troopers began the pursuit in their patrol cars.
Jones later told police he tried to reach the highway because Curry believed troopers would stop the pursuit at that point, the affidavit said.
Jones told police his glasses had fallen off so he couldn’t see properly while trying to escape police. He also said he saw Smith about 100 yards away and that he braked and lost control of the car before the collision, according to the affidavit.
Video from a traffic camera reviewed by IndyStar showed the Chevrolet turning toward Smith while throwing stop sticks onto the road in front of the Traverse.
More: Two Indiana troopers were killed by fleeing vehicles. Could their deaths lead to change?
The probable cause affidavits in the case note that Jones was nearly two full lanes away from Smith shortly before the crash.
Smith and the stolen vehicle ended up in an embankment on the side of the road. Troopers drew their weapons and ordered the occupants of the Traverse to exit the car.
Curry and the girl got out, while Jones was trapped in the car. All three were taken to a hospital for examination. Smith was rushed to Eskenazi Hospital, where he died, according to state police. Investigators later learned that the 15-year-old girl was from a Missouri department that had been reported missing.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Passenger in crash that killed Trooper Aaron Smith agrees to plea
