Hayley Curran and Sam Boomershine were excited for their future. The young Indianapolis couple had dreams of moving to Tennessee together, where they could be surrounded by mountains and serenity.
Curran, 26, was a legal assistant at a local law firm while Boomershine, 23, used his various licenses to help others with machinery-related work. Both enjoyed going out — her favorite bar was 8 Seconds Saloon and his was Brother’s in Broad Ripple — and both adored their golden retrievers, Athena Rose and Elvis.
Now, Curran and Boomershine will never be able to bring the rest of their dreams to fruition. They’ll never walk through the doors of their favorite local bars again, nor spend time with their dogs or share laughs with friends.
On May 24, Curran and Boomershine died in a motorcycle crash on the north side of Indianapolis. Around 9:22 p.m., the motorcycle Boomershine was driving with Curran as a passenger collided with an SUV at the intersection of 75th Street and Keystone Avenue. The crash remains under investigation, police said.
While the couple can no longer live out their futures, they are survived by the family and friends across Indiana who will carry their memories forward.
“They were the light in every room that they walked into together,” said Katie Beagle, a friend of Curran’s since middle school.
Curran looked at the good in every situation, Beagle said. Boomershine, she added, had a good sense of humor and welcoming nature. Their loss is crushing, she said.
“I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m numb,” Beagle said. “I’ve gone through a loss before, but not like this. It just feels different.”
Curran was close with her family, her mother Amy Curran said, especially her younger brothers Jack and Daniel, her grandparents and her cousins.
“She didn’t necessarily like confrontation,” Amy Curran said. “She may not stick up for herself, but she would be right in somebody’s face, no matter who and how big they were, to stick up and help a friend.”
Curran helped lifelong friend Megan Matlock through the death of her mother and stood by her side when Matlock found out she was pregnant.
“Every memory with her is my favorite because she was part of it,” Matlock said. “She was always the reason someone was laughing — always cracking jokes, always smiling.”
Boomershine was funny, kind and always ready to solve a problem with the tools he had on hand, his family said. He was known for his kindness and sarcastic humor, giving hugs and calling family members after work.
“You could always recognize when Sam was around, whether by his laugh, his cowboy hat or the central Indiana southern twang he somehow developed,” the Boomershine family said in a statement to IndyStar. “He was a helper, always.”
Gabi Clark, a friend of Boomershine’s since 2025, said he was like a brother. Funny and easy to talk to, Boomershine was also someone who would protect her in uncomfortable situations and fix things around her apartment.
Sue Gozdecki, Curran’s aunt, said everyone fell in love with her niece’s big brown eyes and bubbly personality. Cousin Morgan Keric said Curran always exceeded the expectations of her rambunctious and fun-loving Irish, Catholic family.
Curran worked at Tandy Law Firm as a pre-litigation file manager and dreamed of becoming an attorney, friend and law firm coworker Kirsten Kratz said. Kratz and Curran became close in the time they worked together, she said, sharing coffee dates and happy hours while helping each other through stressful days. They had plans to visit Nashville the weekend after Curran’s death.
Friends and family say the young couple was excited for the future — developing their professional careers together, spending time with their two golden retrievers and eventually moving south to the mountains.
“They were each other’s person,” Beagle said.
Mia Thurow is the breaking news and criminal justice reporter for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at mthurow@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Friends, family remember young couple killed in Indy motorcycle crash
Reporting by Mia Thurow, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
