INDIANAPOLIS - The family of an Indianapolis man who was struck and killed during a hit-and-run early Tuesday morning is speaking out and seeking answers.
IMPD officers were dispatched around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday to the 6000 block of South Washington Street after a person was reportedly hit by a vehicle. When police arrived, they found 47-year-old Roy Hodges had been struck and killed.
"It’s heartless," Roy's brother Justin Hodges said. "It’s cruel. It’s inhumane."
The shock is still setting in for Justin Hodges and his mother Peggy Scotten. A cross surrounded by a few flowers and balloons now sits not far from where Roy died.
"How could you do that," Scotten said. "How could you take my son’s life? How could you hit a human being and not stop and help them out? How could you be so heartless?"
Scotten describes her son as a happy family man surrounded by love and who spread that love just as quickly.
"My son was my life," she said. "He was a dad to a Navy sailor who is in California serving our country. He had a beautiful daughter, two beautiful grandchildren. He was the best person."
Scotten and Hodges said they have seen surveillance video where a driver strikes Roy and other cars also hit him and continue driving by. They said they are appalled by the number of hit-and-runs across the Circle City and said something has to change.
"We have to be better as a people," Hodges said. "We can’t keep doing this. Every week there’s a different person that gets run over and nobody even stops."
The two also said they would like to see more sidewalks added to the area where Roy was killed and in other places across the city. They also said they would like the city and police to invest in more license plate readers to help solve similar crimes.
While Scotten and Hodges said they hope the driver responsible comes forward, police are continuing to investigate. IMPD is asking anyone with information to share it with the department or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.