Aaron Michael Magee

Report states Markleville child remains in hospital after ‘near fatal’ accident

HANCOCK COUNTY — A man police believe left a 13-year-old bicycle rider in the road after hitting him with his car on June 17 has been arrested. Prosecutor Brent Eaton asked officials in Hancock County Circuit Court on Thursday, June 29, for a warrant and the arrest of Aaron Michael Magee, 33, Anderson.
After an investigation by Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, officials there turned a probable cause affidavit over to Eaton identifying Magee as the hit-and-run driver.
Magee has been accused of striking Jasper Young of Markleville with his car when the boy was riding his bicycle, and then leaving Jasper in the road unattended in the 500 block of Main Street in Wilkinson. Jasper was flown by medical helicopter to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis where he remains in critical condition. Doctors have taken Jasper off of a ventilator and are trying to stabilize his breathing, officials said.
Eaton has charged Magee with a Level 4 count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury. The crime is punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
Judge Terry Snow signed the warrant Thursday, June 29, and HCSD went to arrest Magee who, officials say, had since left his Anderson address following an initial interview with detectives.
“The house he was staying at is empty,” Capt. Robert Harris of the HCSD said on Thursday, June 29.
Regardless, sheriff’s officials had a good line on Magee. They found him at another residence in Anderson and took him into custody.
“Thankfully he surrendered without incident,” Harris said.
The arrest brought to a close a nearly two-week investigation. According to a probable cause affidavit, HCSD were called to the scene of the accident around 10 p.m. June 17. The initial scene suggested to officials that a bicycle rider had been struck from behind while traveling northbound in Wilkinson.
Officials on the scene spoke with two witnesses who found Jasper lying on the road and said they saw the vehicle immediately in front of them slam on the brakes then swerve and continue driving. The witnesses then saw Jasper lying in the road with his eyes open, but he was unable to communicate, the affidavit said.
HCSD was able to identify the vehicle that swerved as a 2008 gold Saturn Aura belonging to Magee.
Detectives conducted surveillance at Magee’s address in the 1000 block of Sandra Drive, Anderson after they could not immediately find the vehicle after driving past the home many times. During their observations, they noted a female driver pull into the resident’s drive and open the overhead garage door, the affidavit said.
That’s when detectives could see a gold Saturn Aura parked inside the garage, they state in the report.
The detectives immediately pulled into the driveway as the woman who opened the garage door walked away from them into the house and shut the garage door into the house. Officials noted as they knocked at the door leading from the garage into the house, they noticed the gold Saturn had heavy damage on the front windshield.
Officials eventually got the woman to answer the front door and were able to talk with Magee. After telling him they were looking into an accident, they read him his rights, the affidavit said. Magee told officials the car was his but that he had not driven it in a while because he was unemployed.
The detectives, however, showed Magee a photo of himself at a nearby gas station in Knightstown minutes before the hit-and-run was reported in mid-June, the affidavit states. Magee then admitted it was him at the gas station, but told the detectives the reason his car was messed up was because he hit a deer with his car.
Officials then asked Magee if he’d sign a search consent so they could confirm he had hit a deer and Magee replied, “you guys already have your mind made up,” the affidavit states.
The collection of hair and DNA evidence was conducted on the vehicle, officials note. They also looked at the damage of the bicycle and the car, and officials noted that they appeared to match.
Officials also note in the report they were able to determine Magee, the woman at his house and two small children were at a cookout in Knightstown on the evening of the hit-and-run and had been there since around 4 p.m. They reportedly left shortly before Jasper was struck in Wilkinson at about 10 p.m.
Doctors reported to officials that Jasper is still in critical condition after being involved in the “near fatal” hit-and-run, the report stated. They also said that without the medical attention it would have been a fatal hit-and-run, the report stated.
The affidavit notes Jasper will have severe, long-term neurological injury and complications. The doctor also told officials in the report they do not expect Jasper will regain normal function within a period of one year.
“Unfortunately, the young victim is still in the hospital,” Harris said. “Doctors stated his condition is still very critical and will likely affect him for the rest of his life.”
Harris said it is still too early to determine the exact, lasting effects of the injuries.
Court documentation said Magee has been identified as a habitual offender after collecting two prior unrelated felony convictions of receiving stolen property and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Magee is being held in the Hancock County Jail pending an intial hearing in Circuit Court.