Indianapolis, IN

Abandoned vehicles along Indianapolis interstates will be towed during winter storm

Published

11 months ago

January 3, 2025

Press Room

Abandoned vehicles along Indianapolis interstates will be towed during winter storm

Don’t leave your vehicle along the highway during this looming winter storm, unless you want it towed.

Indiana State Police is warning drivers that vehicles left along interstates specific to the Indianapolis area will be hauled away. With the winter weather right around the corner, troopers will be removing abandoned motor vehicles regardless of how long they’ve been there.

“Now, that doesn’t mean that you’re out of gas and you’re stuck on the road we’ll take it,” Sgt. John Perrine told IndyStar. “If you call us and let us know the situation then we can work with you. We can also help if you need help with a ride or a tow truck.”

While people normally have 24 hours to remove their vehicles from the side of highways, during winter weather, vehicles are quickly towed.

Perrine said these abandoned vehicles pose a hazard for other drivers and impede emergency response and the Indiana Department of Transportation’s ability to push snow out of the road. Stalled vehicles also can be a hazard for other cars if the roads are slick and icy, and plows need the shoulders of the road to pile up the snow.

Indianapolis has over 200 miles of interstate roads including I-74, I-69, I-465, I-70 and I-465.

What to do if your vehicle gets towed because of the storm

Indiana State Police uses different towing companies around the city.

You’re encouraged to reach out with information about the vehicle including the make, model and year and where it was potentially picked up from by calling the agency’s main number and pressing the option for commercial vehicle enforcement division.

Indiana State Police posts in Indianapolis contact info

Indianapolis District 52 – 8620 E. 21st St., Indianapolis, IN 46219 | Main phone: (800) 582-8440

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

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Indianapolis, IN

The Zone Banner winner is revealed

Published

10 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Student sections have been packed out and bringing the energy all season competing for The Zone Banner.

And the winner of The Zone Banner is… Brownsburg!

Brownsburg made AC’s Top 8 in eight of the nine weeks of the regular season. They were impressive throughout the season and were active on social media as well, campaigning for their school to win The Zone Banner.

This is Brownsburg’s second time winning The Zone Banner.

WISH-TV Sports Director Anthony Calhoun will present Brownsburg with its championship banner at its gymnasium on Tuesday, November 25.

Past winners

2024: Fishers
2023: Bishop Chatard
2022: Franklin Community
2021: Cathedral
2020: Westfield
2019: Mooresville
2018: Brownsburg
2017: Carmel
2016: Franklin Community
2015: Guerin Catholic

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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis rocked by mistaken identity shooting of paperboy in 1980s

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

Indianapolis rocked by mistaken identity shooting of paperboy in 1980s

There was no warning before the gunshot was fired from within the house. Inside, an armed homeowner believed they’d thwarted a crime. Feet away, a loved one watched as their family member died, the light low before sunrise.

That was the case on Nov. 5, 2025, as it also was on Sept. 25, 1986. Nearly four decades before the death of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, a high school junior mistaken for a vandal was fatally shot while delivering The Indianapolis Star on his early morning paper route.

The killing of Scott “Patrick” Lawson, 16, drew national headlines. As the teen approached a northside home to deliver the morning paper, 74-year-old Nokomis Toombs fired a shotgun through his living room window, striking Lawson in the chest. Lawson’s mother, who was helping her son out that morning, was parked feet away.

Toombs told police he’d been keeping an all-night vigil after a rash of youth violence near his home in the 5200 block of North Rosslyn Avenue north of the Indiana Fairgrounds. When Lawson approached his home at about 4:45 a.m., Toombs believed he was a neighborhood teen taking part in an ongoing harassment campaign. He did not give a warning before firing the gun, he told police.

Toombs had recently testified against three teens in a burglary case and feared retaliation, according to a Sept. 26, 1986, United Press International article.

About a month before Lawson’s death, police confiscated two guns from Toombs after he admitted to firing into a neighbor’s home. He said his own home had been fired upon first, and the guns were returned because Toombs had no criminal record.

Prosecutors soon learned that Toombs had not been home all night on Sept. 25, as he had claimed, and had instead been cut off at a bar only hours before the shooting – a fact that likely made the state’s case stronger.

Toombs was charged with murder within days of the shooting.

“I’m not convinced this was a case of a homeowner defending his home,” said Steve Goldsmith, Marion County’s then-prosecutor, according to an Associated Press article from Sept. 29, 1986.

Indiana law allows people to use reasonable force — including deadly force — to prevent an unlawful entry of their home, occupied motor vehicle or curtilage.

Toombs eventually pleaded guilty to reckless homicide. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 1987, serving two and a half after a sentence reduction and good time credit.

There are sharp differences between the two shootings, decades apart. Curt Andersen, the 62-year-old man charged in connection with the Nov. 5, 2025, shooting of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, who arrived at his home mistakenly thinking she had a cleaning job there, made no mention to police about previous break-ins or crime, according to court documents. There’s also no indication that investigators suspected Andersen of being under the influence at the time of the shooting.

On Nov. 17, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced a charge of voluntary manslaughter against Andersen. Guy Relford, Andersen’s attorney, indicated on social media that his defense will center around castle doctrine.

“Contrary to the contention of the prosecutor — and without discussing the specific facts of the case — we believe Mr. Andersen had every reason to believe his actions were absolutely necessary and fully justified at the time,” Relford wrote on X shortly after charges were announced.

Andersen’s initial hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21.

(This article will update.)

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.

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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis metal supplier lays off 54 people

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Press Room

Indianapolis metal supplier lays off 54 people

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 50 people will soon be unemployed as a metal supplier on Indy’s east side announced mass layoffs that go into effect in January.

Kloeckner Metals Indianapolis, located at 8301 E. 33rd Street, filed a notice with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to inform the state of a mass layoff at its facility.

Kloeckner Metal said a total of 54 people will be permanently laid off, with the first separations occurring on Jan. 20, 2026. The rest will all take place within 14 days thereafter.

No reason for the layoffs was included in the notice to the DWD. Affected employees include welders, warehousemen, saw operators, drivers, shear operators, burner operators, supervisors, account managers and various other positions.

Kloeckner Metals Corporation is based in Georgia and boasts itself as one of the largest metal manufacturing, supply and service companies in North America with over 45 branches.

According to the website, the Indianapolis location is a 160,000 square foot facility. Products ranged from structural beams and tubing to flooring, grating and sheet products.

It is unclear if the entirety of Kloeckner Indianapolis’s workforce is being laid off or only a portion. No complete workforce number was listed for the location. The notice filed with the state did not mention a closure for the facility, however.

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