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Haley Danielle Crumb

Age : 25

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 01/29/2025

Location : U.S. 41 and St. George Road

City : Evansville

County : Vanderburgh

State : Indiana

Agency : Evansville Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Evansville Police Department Street Crimes Unit detectives were conducting surveillance of the Evansville residence of Brandon D. McKinney during an investigation involving suspected illegal firearms and drugs. Detectives watched Brent McKinney and Haley Crumb briefly enter and leave the residence in a blue Chevrolet Blazer. Federal prosecutors disclosed in 2026 that detectives interpreted the brief visit as behavior consistent with a potential drug transaction and initiated a traffic stop on the Blazer.
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NARRATIVE:
On 01/28/2025, 25-year-old Brent Ray McKinney of Evansville was killed after an Evansville Police Department Street Crimes Unit traffic stop escalated into a high-speed flight and fatal crash on U.S. 41. His passenger, 25-year-old Haley Danielle Crumb, was also killed.
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The circumstances leading to the stop were not publicly explained when McKinney and Crumb died. Evansville police initially said only that they were known to officers and that the stop was connected with a Street Crimes Unit investigation. More than 18 months later, a federal prosecution involving Brandon McKinney disclosed that detectives had been surveilling Brandon's residence because they suspected that he possessed illegal firearms and drugs.
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During the surveillance, detectives observed Brent McKinney and Crumb enter Brandon McKinney's house and leave a short time later in the blue Chevrolet Blazer. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, detectives interpreted the short visit as behavior consistent with a potential drug transaction and decided to stop the Blazer. The publicly available reporting does not establish that Brent or Haley had committed an observed traffic violation that prompted the stop.
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Police stopped the Blazer at approximately 2:58 p.m. at the Circle K at 4101 U.S. 41 near Lynch Road. Multiple officers participated in the stop. EPD said officers approached the vehicle, interacted with McKinney and gave commands directing him to get out. Publicly released dashcam footage shows the police activity surrounding the stop but does not provide a complete view of every officer's interaction at the Blazer.
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The publicly available reporting does not establish that the stop was formally designated a high-risk or felony traffic stop. It also does not establish that officers knew Brent McKinney or Haley Crumb possessed a firearm before the stop, that either person displayed a firearm, or that either person pointed or threatened officers with a weapon. No public body-camera footage showing the officers' close-range interaction at the Blazer was located in the reporting reviewed for this update.
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At approximately 3:01 p.m., McKinney drove away from the Circle K. Dashcam footage released by EPD shows officers immediately hurrying back toward their police vehicles as the Blazer departs.
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Evansville police subsequently denied that officers engaged in a vehicle pursuit. EPD spokesman Sgt. Anthony Aussieker said officers disengaged their emergency lights and sirens once they entered U.S. 41. Police nevertheless acknowledged that the lead officer continued north behind McKinney's vehicle. EPD characterized the officer's conduct as proceeding at a safe speed to monitor McKinney's direction of travel and determine whether his speed resulted in a crash.
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Independent news coverage described the sequence differently. WNIN reported that the lead officer continued following the Blazer after police turned off the emergency lights and siren, while WEHT referred to the publicly released dashcam as footage of the pursuit before the fatal crash. The distinction between EPD's characterization of the officer as merely monitoring the Blazer and other reporting describing the sequence as a pursuit remains relevant to the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
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Approximately one mile north of the Circle K, the Blazer reached the intersection of U.S. 41 and St. George Road and struck the trailer of a semi-truck that was turning east onto St. George Road. McKinney and Crumb were pronounced dead at the scene.
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After the crash, witnesses contacted police and reported finding a firearm near the crash scene. Police seized the firearm as evidence. The initial and subsequent public reporting reviewed does not state that police saw McKinney with that firearm during the traffic stop, that he pointed it at officers, or that police knew the firearm was present before they stopped the Blazer. A firearm reportedly found by a witness near the crash scene should therefore not be described as a weapon used or displayed during the police encounter absent additional evidence.
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The August 2026 federal disclosure does not allege that McKinney or Crumb threatened officers with a firearm. Federal prosecutors instead reported that investigators recovered marijuana and approximately 1.9 grams of methamphetamine from the Blazer. The DOJ release does not specify the quantity of marijuana and does not attribute either drug specifically to McKinney or Crumb.
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The much larger firearm and drug seizure publicized in connection with the case occurred at Brandon McKinney's residence, not in Brent McKinney's Blazer. Police reported recovering 41 firearms, approximately 390 grams of marijuana, 54.7 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 3,000 rounds of ammunition, body armor, high-capacity magazines and $2,686 from Brandon's house. Those items should not be attributed to Brent McKinney or Haley Crumb.
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Brandon McKinney was subsequently federally prosecuted for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty and on 08/18/2026 was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was not charged with causing Brent McKinney's or Haley Crumb's deaths. No Evansville police officer was publicly reported criminally charged in connection with the traffic stop, following of the Blazer or fatal crash.
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McKinney was born 09/01/1999 and was 25 when he died. His obituary described him as a construction worker who enjoyed motorcycles, fishing and working on projects. He was the father of four children.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Evansville Police Department has not publicly identified the Street Crimes Unit officer or officers who initiated the stop or the lead officer who continued north behind McKinney's Blazer in the sources located. Sgt. Anthony Aussieker was the police spokesman who publicly defended EPD's characterization of the incident as something other than a pursuit and should not be identified as an involved officer absent additional evidence. EPD publicly released dashcam footage but no publicly released body-camera recording showing the officers' close-range interaction with McKinney and Crumb at the Circle K was located during this review.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.14news.com/2025/01/29/epd-show-dash-cam-video-traffic-stop-deadly-crash/
https://www.14news.com/2025/01/28/accident-with-injuries-closes-part-highway-41/
https://news.wnin.org/2025-01-29/two-killed-in-crash-after-fleeing-police
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/evansville-felon-linked-fatal-highway-41-crash-sentenced-13-years-federal-prison
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/newburgh-in/haley-crumb-12221231