Father, Young Son Thrown From Car, Killed In Crash

INDIANAPOLIS -- A 22-year-old man and his young son were both killed early Sunday when they were thrown from a vehicle in a crash on the city’s northeast side.

The crash, near 38th Street and Lesley Avenue, was reported just before 3 a.m. by a man who said he saw the child fly from a car, said Indianapolis police Sgt. Matthew Mount.

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Images: Father, Son Killed In Crash

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Officers arrived to find the car on its top in the parking lot of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge at 5605 E. 38th Street, Mount said.

The child was found nearby on the street. A 22-year-old man was found not far from the toddler on the sidewalk. He was pronounced dead. The child was transported to Community East Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Mount said.

Police later identified the victims as Shavonte Fields, 22, and his 32-month-old son.

Police said late Sunday that they believed Fields had initially collided with another vehicle when changing lanes on 38th Street. The impact flipped Fields’ car, sending it crashing into a van in a nearby parking lot, Mount said.

Fields and his son were ejected from the vehicle and thrown over the Grand Lodge building and onto Lesley Avenue, Mount said.

The other vehicle involved in the initial crash then struck a black pickup truck, Mount said. When the driver of the car got out of his vehicle, he told police he was assaulted by the driver of the truck.

The driver of the car then left his vehicle at the scene to call police. When he returned, he told officers his car had been taken.

The car was recovered at 4300 N. Kitley Ave. just after 7 p.m. Sunday.

Police said there was a passenger in the truck who might be involved. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 262-TIPS.

Friends told 6News Sunday that Fields had just returned from serving with the Army National Guard in Iraq.