Indy woman accused of drunk driving after hitandrun crash injures 14yearold
Mar 25, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis woman is in jail, accused of driving under the influence and fleeing the scene of a crash where a 14-year-old was hurt on the city's near west side.
The victim of the hit-and-run crash said he had just bought donuts at Long’s Bakery and was walking down the side
walk along West 16th Street when he was hit by a driver who sped away down the street.Witnesses claimed the suspect swerved off the road and jumped the curb, slamming directly into a 14-year-old who had no warning or chance to get out of the way. The collision tossed the victim into the air on Saturday afternoon.“It was all like one second. Just like that. It just came right at me on the curb and I was like, ‘Oh this can't be real,’” said the victim.The victim suffered a broken leg in the crash. He has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.Because he's underage, his mother asked that he not be identified, but the young man admitted to feeling lucky to be alive.“I told my mom I was saying, 'Thank God, thank Jesus,' because I could have lost my life. I could have been paralyzed,” said the victim.A witness on scene took a picture of the suspect's license plate. That allowed police to find the suspect's damaged car a few miles away on 25th Street.Police claim 44-year-old Tiona Hankins was still in the driver’s seat and showed obvious signs of impairment, including struggling to stand up.
According to court records, a preliminary breath test showed Hankins had a blood alcohol level of .350. That is more than four times the legal limit.
“You have a duty to have a plan because you might not think you're going to get into a crash, but you're putting others’ lives in danger and there's no need for that. It's so preventable,” said Kylee Jones. Jones is part of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. According to MADD, someone is injured or killed by a drunk driver every 79 seconds across the country. That's why they urge everyone to be responsible behind the wheel.
“Drinking and driving is 100 percent preventable,” said Jones. “Hand over your keys and that's nothing to be ashamed about because we don't want anyone on the roads that are a danger to other people.”
“God would want me to forgive her instead of having anger in my heart,” said the victim.While the young victim said he forgives the suspect, he also urged everyone to drive safely.“Be careful because this could ruin somebody else's life,” said the victim.Prosecutors were given a 72-hour continuance to file formal charges in the case. In the meantime, the suspect is being held on a $40,000 bond. ...read more read less