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Main, left to right: Ares Vawter and Iris Moore (Legacy Funeral Services). Inset: S’Doni Pettis (Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office).
A 25-year-old man from Indiana has been sentenced to over 70 years in prison following a tragic high-speed police chase that ended in a deadly collision. S’Doni Pettis was driving nearly 100 mph when he ran a red light, crashing into a family’s SUV and causing it to burst into flames. The devastating crash resulted in the deaths of two young brothers, 3-year-old Ares Vawter and 2-month-old Iris Moore.
The sentencing took place in Hendricks County, where a judge imposed the state’s maximum penalty, resulting in Pettis serving 74 years behind bars. This sentencing follows Pettis’s decision to plead guilty mid-trial last month to multiple charges, including three counts of resisting law enforcement, two counts of causing catastrophic injury while operating a vehicle, one count of causing death while operating a vehicle, as well as charges of conversion and auto theft.
Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp, expressing the gravity of the situation, stated, “This crime was completely foreseeable. Two young children are dead because the defendant didn’t want to be held accountable for stealing a car. Now he has the rest of his life in prison to think about the lives he took and those he affected.”
The tragic incident unfolded on February 5, 2025, as described in a news release from the Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office. Pettis, who was already on probation for aggravated battery, had stolen a gray Honda Civic in Indianapolis before embarking on his reckless drive westbound on U.S. 40.
According to a news release from the Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office, the incident took place on the morning of Feb. 5, 2025. Pettis, who was on probation for aggravated battery at the time, stole a gray Honda Civic in Indianapolis and got onto U.S. 40 driving west.
A short while later, an officer with the Avon Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the Civic and learned the vehicle was stolen. Pettis then “deliberately chose to flee” from the officer.
“As Pettis accelerated westbound on U.S. 40, he entered the intersection of Ronald Reagan Parkway at extreme speeds, ran a red light, and slammed into a Ford Explorer occupied by a family,” the release states. “The impact sent the Explorer airborne and immediately engulfed it in flames. Inside the burning vehicle were two young children.”
Iris, the infant, was pronounced dead at the scene. Ares suffered “catastrophic burns” and was transported to Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis where he succumbed to his injuries and died. The young brothers were laid to rest together on March 12, 2025, according to NBC affiliate WTHR.
Several others were injured while trying to rescue the children, including multiple responding police officers and the boys’ father. A civilian bystander who attempted to cut away a car seat that had melted around one of the victims was also injured, prosecutors said.
Data obtained from Pettis’ car showed he was going about 90 mph at the moment of impact and “never applied his brakes,” according to prosecutors.
“The crimes committed by the defendant are unspeakable,” Delp said. “Two innocent children lost their lives because of violent choices and utterly indifferent to human life. There is no sentence that can restore what was taken from these families, but there is an obligation—on behalf of this community—to hold the offender fully accountable.”