INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man who pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a deadly crash on Indianapolis’ southeast in December 2023 was sentenced Wednesday.
Bradley Woods admitted to causing a crash that killed 20-year-old Avery May and injured his girlfriend Rylee White.
“I’m just sorry,” Woods said at his sentencing.
The crash happened on Dec. 23, at East Southport Road and Little Oak Lane.
“It felt like hitting a brick wall. I thought that I was dead,” White said. “I will never understand the choices Brad made that night nor the ones he has made up until this point.”
Woods admitted in court that he did not stay at the scene, did not help those injured, and did not call 911.
Body camera footage presented in court Wednesday showed Woods and his wife leaving the scene after officers told him to stay. Woods apologized for not contacting the victim’s families sooner.
“My biggest regret is not reaching out initially,” Woods said. “It was selfish, and I’m sorry for everything, especially for the way I handled post-accident.”
He was sentenced on Nov. 4 to nine years in prison, three-and-a-half years of home detention, and two-and-a-half years of probation, according to prosecutors.
“These were selfish, reckless decisions,” Judge Marshelle Broadwell said as she handed down the sentence.
Prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts, including drunk driving charges. However, in court Wednesday, prosecutors presented evidence that Woods had been drinking earlier that day and stopped at a liquor store minutes before the crash.
Because he left the scene, police officers did not obtain a blood draw from Woods the night of the crash.
“You know you are 100 percent responsible for that crash that night,” Nina May, Avery’s mother, said to Woods. “You’ve taken away a branch of our family tree.”
“That part makes me really angry,” Nina said. “It makes me really angry when I found out that blood draw wasn’t obtained that night.”
Both Nina and White said they are grateful for the sentence. “I feel like there’s a weight lifted off my shoulders,” White said.
“We’re all walking out of this courtroom feeling a little bit lighter today,” May said.
In a related case, his wife, Paige Woods, is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly removing Bradley’s blood from the scene. She is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on Nov. 20.
