INDIANAPOLIS — A New Palestine man is facing felony charges following a Feb. 22 crash that left him and three other people injured.
Officials with the Indiana State Police (ISP) arrested Joseph Means, 24, 30 block of Mill Street, New Palestine, and charged him with a Level 3 felony count of resisting law enforcement-use of vehicle that causes death or catastrophic injury, a Level 4 felony count of possession of cocaine, a Level 5 felony count of resisting law enforcement and a Level 6 felony count of resisting law enforcement.
According to an ISP press release, at approximately 5:22 p.m. Feb. 22, an Indiana State Trooper saw a gray Ford Mustang driven by Means spinning tires and sliding sideways out of a parking lot onto 10th Street near Tibbs Avenue in a reckless manner.
The Mustang then rapidly accelerated westbound on 10th Street, officials said in the release. The trooper activated his lights and pulled in behind the Mustang to pull the driver over. When the police lights were turned on, the driver of the Mustang, Means, accelerated more, pulling away from the trooper.
The trooper activated his siren but Means refused to pull over while continuing to accelerate. The trooper began notifying dispatch of the pursuit, giving the location. The pursuit continued westbound on 10th Street and eventually southbound on Holt Road. Seconds after the pursuit began, the Mustang approached the intersection of Holt Road and Michigan Street.
Officials noted that Means failed to stop at the red light, entering the intersection at a high rate of speed and crashing into a white Buick Enclave.
The driver of the Buick and a passenger in the Buick, along with the driver and passenger in the Mustang, sustained serious injuries. The occupants of both vehicles, four total, were rushed to area hospitals by EMS. The 33-year-old female driver of the Buick remains hospitalized in critical condition. The male passenger in the Buick sustained critical injuries and was hospitalized for several days. Means and his passenger in the Mustang also sustained critical injuries, officials said.
Indiana State Police Detectives and the Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to investigate. The investigation of the crash revealed the Mustang was in excess of 100 miles per hour at the point of impact with the Buick, with no indication of braking. Investigators also determined traffic on southbound Holt Road had a red light when the southbound Mustang entered the intersection at a high rate of speed.
While investigators were speaking with Means in the hospital, they located cocaine and marijuana in his belongings. He was officially arrested March 9 upon release from the hospital and transported to the Marion County Jail.
Investigators filed for a search warrant to search the inside of the Mustang and obtain electronic information from the vehicle. The warrant was granted by a judge, and a subsequent search of the Mustang revealed marijuana, an identification belonging to Means, and several cell phones. Data recovery from the vehicle that gives information about the crash is currently pending. A blood draw for impairment was also obtained from Means in the hospital, and the results of those tests are also pending.
The case against Means has been opened in Marion Superior Court 28, where his initial hearing was slated for Tuesday afternoon.
