INDIANAPOLIS — The alleged drunk driver who struck and seriously injured an Indiana State Police trooper along Interstate 65 near downtown Indianapolis Saturday evening was formally charged in the case Tuesday.
On Jan. 23, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office charged 22-year-old Armaandeep Singh with two counts of causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of reckless driving causing bodily injury.
Around 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 20, officers were called to a report of a person struck on southbound I-65 near the 30th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street exits in downtown Indianapolis.
Indiana State Police Trooper Azariah Keith, 22, was helping a stranded motorist change a flat tire while another officer blocked the left lane to give Keith a safe place to assist. As Keith was loading his tire-changing equipment back into his car, another vehicle struck him and his car.
According to an initial post by ISP Sgt. John Perrine, the trooper suffered critical injuries in the crash.
In a press conference around 11:15 p.m. that night, Perrine said Keith is expected to survive, upgrading his condition to "stable but serious."
In an arrest report, police said Keith had a broken pelvis, broken left fibula and a cut through his knee joint on his left leg.
In an update posted on X Monday afternoon, Perrine said Keith is "recovering well" and "has a long road to recovery but doctors are optimistic for a full recovery." Perrine concluded by saying Keith "would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support."
Police believe Singh, the driver of the car that hit Keith, was drunk. The arrest report says Singh blew a 0.161 in a portable breath test approximately 1.5 hours after the crash, which is more than two times the legal limit in Indiana.
According to the arrest report, Singh told police he was following a large semi-truck in the left lane of the interstate when the semi abruptly changed lanes in front of him. Singh claims that after the semi moved, he saw a police car with its lights on, and Singh said he swerved to avoid it and lost control of his car when it hit a median wall before hitting Keith and his car.
The arrest report says Singh told police he had drank one beer that day after buying a six-pack at a liquor store. According to the arrest report, detectives got a search warrant for the car Singh was driving and found an empty beer bottle, five unopened beer bottles and several other beer bottle caps.
Police arrested Singh on a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury.
Singh appeared in court on Jan. 23 and was ordered held on a $100,000 bond. The court suspended his driver's license.
"We're human, and we feel the pain and hurt," Perrine said. "We're gonna wrap our arms around each other, but we're also going to continue to serve the community."
The trooper who was assisting Keith reportedly witnessed the incident first-hand. The arrest report says both troopers had their lights activated prior to the crash.
The southbound lanes of I-65 were closed for around three hours while the scene was processed, according to ISP.
Just a few hours later and about a mile south of Saturday night's incident, another trooper was investigating a crash when her car was struck. Perrine said the trooper was not injured in that incident.