Man who struck Indiana trooper helping change tire sentenced

INDIANAPOLIS — A man charged with driving drunk and striking a state trooper who was helping change a tire on the side of I-65 will spend two years in prison and two years on probation, according to court records.

Armaandeep Singh was sentenced Friday in Marion Superior Court after pleading guilty to one felony count of causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated in the Jan. 20, 2024 crash that severely injured 22-year-old Indiana State Trooper Azariah Keith. Singh's driver’s license will be suspended for two years once he is released.

According to state police, Keith was outside his car on the interstate, near 30th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets helping a stranded motorist change a flat tire when he was struck.

Keith had just finished changing the tire when Singh is alleged to have swerved around another trooper’s vehicle that was blocking traffic lanes for safety, lost control, crashed into the concrete median barrier and struck him with a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, according to charging documents.

Keith was taken to a hospital, where he was released 17 days later.

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com