Indy man sentenced to 14 years in prison for sparking deadly police chase
Nov 25, 2024
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man who sparked a deadly police chase has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
An order issued on Monday indicates Jose Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, two counts of causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of leaving the scene of a serious bodily injury crash. Lopez faced 10 charges in total, but six of them were dropped because of his plea deal.
Previous reporting indicates Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers saw a silver Pontiac hit a pedestrian near 62nd Street and Michigan Road around 3 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2022. Police reported that the driver of the Pontiac — later identified as Lopez — did not stop after striking the pedestrian.
After they saw the pedestrian get hit, police attempted to conduct a traffic stop with Lopez. He disregarded law enforcement's attempts to pull him over, and a chase began.
Lopez continued to flee from police until he reached the intersection of 71st Street and Michigan Road. Once he got there, Lopez rear-ended a Mazda that was stopped at a red light.
The Pontiac Lopez was driving then pushed the Mazda through the intersection until the Mazda caught fire. First responders freed two of the three individuals who got trapped in the Mazda.
Nyla Sanders, however, was not able to get free from the car as quickly. She ultimately died at the scene of the crash.
The report police filed at the time of the incident did not indicate the severity of the injuries sustained by the pedestrian Lopez struck.
Lopez's sentencing order shows that he had been arrested for drunk driving twice before the Oct. 1, 2022, incident — once in Marion County and once in Hamilton County.
Per his sentencing order, Lopez has already earned 202 days of jail credit. Lopez will also have 606 days knocked off his sentence to account for time he has already served.