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Jacob Garrett “Jake” Roberts

Age : 23

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 06/25/2022

Location : County Road 300S and County Road 600W

City : Trafalgar

County : Johnson

State : Indiana

Agency : Trafalgar Police Department

Officer(s) :Dustin Moody

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Speeding, aggressive driving and failure to stop; Trafalgar Police Officer Dustin Moody observed Roberts's Chevrolet pickup speeding south on State Road 135 and heard its tires squealing as it turned west onto County Road 300S. Moody followed the pickup and observed Roberts disregard a stop sign at railroad tracks. Moody activated his emergency lights and siren, but Roberts continued driving.
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NARRATIVE:
On 06/25/2022, 23-year-old Jacob Garrett “Jake” Roberts of Nineveh was killed when his Chevrolet pickup crashed during a Trafalgar Police Department pursuit in Johnson County.
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At approximately 3:36 a.m., Trafalgar Police Officer Dustin Moody was in his patrol vehicle near State Road 135 and County Road 300S when Roberts's pickup traveled south on State Road 135 at high speed. Moody heard the truck's tires squealing as Roberts turned west onto County Road 300S and began following him.
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Moody caught up with the pickup near railroad tracks and observed Roberts disregard a stop sign. Moody activated his emergency lights and siren, but Roberts continued west on County Road 300S. Moody attempted to notify dispatch of the pursuit but was in a radio dead spot and was unable to communicate with dispatch.
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The pursuit continued west to the T-intersection of County Road 300S and County Road 600W. Roberts's pickup and Moody's police vehicle both left the roadway and crashed into the embankment and tree line. Investigators reported that the two vehicles did not collide with each other.
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Roberts and Moody were both trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated. Roberts died at the scene from blunt-force trauma. Moody was flown by helicopter to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis with catastrophic injuries.
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Moody suffered a spinal-cord injury, 11 broken ribs, a broken femur and pelvis, a collapsed lung and internal injuries. His spinal-cord injury left him paralyzed from the waist down.
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Roberts was born on 03/16/1999 in Franklin, Indiana. He graduated from Indian Creek High School in 2017, where he participated in FFA and golf, and had previously participated in 4-H and showed cattle at the Johnson County Fair. He worked with his family's Honey Creek Auto Service and NAPA Auto Parts business in Bargersville. His obituary described his strong interest in cars and trucks and said friends called him “Rod” because of that interest.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Dustin Moody joined the Trafalgar Police Department in July 2019 and had worked in patrol, investigations and training. He had begun working in law enforcement in 2014. Moody was critically injured and permanently paralyzed from the waist down in the pursuit crash.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wrtv.com/news/public-safety/civilian-dies-two-johnson-county-law-enforcement-officers-injured-in-separate-incidents
https://wkkg.com/local-news/more-details-released-on-trafalgar-officers-crash/
https://mymixfm.com/2022/06/28/man-dead-trafalgar-officer-seriously-hurt-after-pursuit-and-crash/
https://www.swartzmortuary.com/obituary/jacob-jake-roberts
https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/johnson-county/trafalgar-police-officer-shares-story-of-recovery-still-in-need-of-accessible-van
https://t2t.org/sh-recipients/dustin-moody/