Passenger injured as man flees crash scene with missing tire

Bradley Patton

An Indianapolis man is housed at the Putnam County Jail following a Monday-evening crash that injured his female passenger.

Bradley T. Patton, 54, allegedly fled the scene of the crash with only three tires on his 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.

While responding to a reported crash on U.S. 231 just south of U.S. 40, Deputy Robert Soilleux said he came upon a vehicle with front passenger side damage, driving southbound on U.S. 231, half in the southbound lane and half on the paved shoulder, heading away from the reported crash location.

The vehicle had no front passenger side tire and was driving on the rim.

Soilleux activated his emergency lights but the vehicle continued to drive for approximately three quarters of a mile.

Questioned by Soilleux, the driver, later identified as Patton, said he did not know what happened and could not say where the crash occurred.

Soilleux said Patton later claimed he was heading to Indianapols and he had not crashed.

In the front passenger seat, the deputy found a female, bleeding from the face, moaning and complaining of a broken right arm and pain all over.

The passenger, Surrenia S. McJunkin, 53, Fishers, said Patton had been driving but could not tell the deputy how they had crashed.

Still later, Patton reportedly told Soilleux the front passenger side tire blew out and he replaced the damaged tire with a spare, which also blew out, causing them to crash. His excuse for leaving the scene was “it was too dangerous.”

McJunkin was transported from the scene for her injuries.

Investigating at the crash scene, Soilleux found the vehicle had apparently been southbound on U.S. 231 when it drove off the west side of the road and initially struck the end of a guardrail before continuing southbound.

The damaged tire was located on the west side of the road, several thousand feet south of the point of initial impact.

Patton was booked in the Putnam Count Jail at 9:19 p.m. on preliminary charges of driving with a suspended license causing personal injury, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, driving while intoxicated endangering a person and false informing.

On Wednesday, the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Patton with three crimes in Putnam Superior Court — Level 6 felony leaving the scene of an accident, Class A misdemeanor driving while intoxicated-endangering a person and Class A misdemeanor driving with a suspended license with a prior conviction.