Aaron Michael Magee
HANCOCK COUNTY — The driver who left a child bicycle rider in the road after hitting him with his car on June 17 has been identified and arrested. Prosecutor Brent Eaton asked officials in Hancock County Circuit Court on Thursday, June 29 for a warrant and the arrest of Aaron Michael Magee, 33, Anderson.
After a thorough investigation by officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, officials there turned a probable cause affidavit over to Eaton identifying Magee as the hit-and-run driver.
Magee has been accused of striking Jasper Young, 13, Markleville, when the boy was riding his bicycle and then leaving Jasper in the road unattended earlier this month in the 500 block of Main Street in Wilkinson. Jasper was flown by lifeline helicopter to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital where he remains in critical condition. Doctors have taken Jasper off of a ventilator and are trying to stabilize his breathing, officials said.
Eaton has charged McGee with a Level 4 count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury. The crime is punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
Judge Terry Snow signed the warrant Thursday afternoon, and officials from the HCSD went to arrest Magee who, officials say, had since left his Anderson address following an initial interview with detectives.
“The house he was staying at is empty,” Capt. Robert Harris of the HCSD said Thursday afternoon.
Regardless, sheriff’s officials had a good line on Magee. They found him at another residence in Anderson and took him into custody.
“Thankfully he surrendered without incident,” Harris said.
The arrest brings to close a nearly two-week investigation. According to a probable cause affidavit, officials with the HCSD were called to the scene of the accident around 10 p.m. June 17. The initial scene suggested to officials that a bicycle rider had been struck from behind while traveling northbound in Wilkinson.
Officials on the scene spoke with two witnesses who found Jasper lying on the road and told officials they did not witness the actual accident, but did witness the vehicle immediately in front of them slam on the brakes then swerve and continue driving. The witnesses then saw Jasper lying in the road with his eyes open, but he was unable to communicate, the affidavit said.
Through an investigation, HCSD officials were able to identify the vehicle directly in front of the witnesses as a 2008 gold Saturn Aura. Deputies were able to determine the car belonged to Magee.
Detectives from the HCSD took over the case and conducted surveillance at Magee’s address in the 1000 block of Sandra Drive, Anderson after they could not immediately find the vehicle after driving past the home many times. During their observations, they noted a female driver pull into the resident’s drive and open the overhead garage door, the affidavit said.
That’s when detectives could see a gold Saturn Aura parked inside the garage, they said in the report.
The detectives immediately pulled into the driveway as the woman who opened the garage door walked away from them into the house and shut the garage door into the house. Officials noted as they knocked at that door leading from the garage into the house, they noticed the gold Saturn had heavy damage on the front windshield.
Officials eventually got the woman to answer the front door and were able to talk with Magee. After telling him they were looking into an accident, they read him his rights, the affidavit said. Magee told officials the car was his but that he had not driven it in a while because he was unemployed.
The detectives however showed Magee a photo of himself at a nearby gas station in Knightstown minutes before the hit-and-run was reported in mid-June, the affidavit stated. Magee then admitted it was him at the gas station, but told the detectives the reason his car was messed up was because he hit a deer with his car.
Officials then asked Magee if he’d sign a search consent so they could confirm he had hit a deer and Magee replied, “you guys already have your mind made up,” the affidavit stated.
The collection of hair and DNA evidence was conducted on the vehicle, officials noted. They also looked at the damage of the bicycle and the car, and officials noted that they appeared to match.
Officials also noted in the report they were able to determine Magee, the woman at his house and two small children were at a cookout in Knightstown on the evening of the hit-and-run and had been there since around 4 p.m. They reportedly left shortly before Jasper was struck in Wilkinson around 10 p.m.
Doctors reported to officials Jasper is still in critical condition after being involved in the “near fatal” hit-and-run, the report stated. They also said that without the medical attention it would have been a fatal hit-and-run, the report stated.
The affidavit notes Jasper will never fully recover and will have severe, long-term neurological injury and complications. The doctor also told officials in the report they do not expect Jasper will regain normal function within a period of one year.
“Unfortunately, the young victim is still in the hospital,” Harris said. “Doctors stated his condition is still very critical and will likely affect him for the rest of his life.”
Harris noted it is still too early to determine the exact, lasting effects of the injuries since he has shown very little improvement since the crash.
Official court documentation said Magee has been identified as a habitual offender after collecting two prior unrelated felony convictions of receiving stolen property and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Magee is being held in the Hancock County Jail pending an intial hearing in Circuit Court.
