A Cumberland man has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of a six-year-old autistic boy.
Early on June 7, 2026, according to a news release, a Cumberland Metropolitan Police officer was flagged down in the 11500 block of E. Washington Street by a passerby who said “something was in the roadway” just outside of Cumberland Town Hall.
An officer found Jari Vontae Spencer gravely injured. Spencer was taken to Riley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The boy had wandered out of his house without his parents’ knowledge at some point before 2:30 a.m., investigators said.
Though the driver who struck and killed Spencer did not remain at the scene, investigators identified a 2004 Chevy Aveo as the suspect vehicle using video camera footage and license plate readers.
Cumberland police have arrested a 22-year-old man in the case, Captain Mark Waggoner said during a news conference on the evening of June 8. The man, who has no criminal history, was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Monday.
IndyStar is not naming the man because he’s not formally charged. He is facing at least one felony count of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
Jari’s parents noticed that he was missing before he was identified as the crash victim and approached police investigating the crash, Waggoner said
“There’s not really words to describe the scene of having to tell parents that their six-year-old child is dead in an accident,” Waggoner said.
A bouquet of flowers and a stuffed bunny with a missing ear now memorialize the site of the crash.
Jari, who was nonverbal, often visited the nearby Dollar Tree and park with his mom, Waggoner said. Video footage suggests that that’s where he was headead early Sunday morning when he decided to cross the road.
His parents had put protections in place to prevent him from leaving his house unattended, Waggoner said.
CMPD, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Traffic Division and the Indiana Department of Child Services have provided assistance with the investigation.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will make final charging decisions.
Two other hit-and-run crashes remain under investigation
The boy’s death was of one of three over the weekend involving hit-and-run drivers. The other two happened in Indianapolis and remain under investigation.
Earl Cecil Scruggs, 50, died June 7 after a car hit him at the intersection of East Raymond and Shelby Street, a few blocks from Garfield Park. Scruggs was attempting to cross the road in his wheelchair when he was struck by a white pickup, according to Fox59.
On June 6, Brett Eatman, 43, died at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital after a motorist struck him at 5358 N. High School Road on the city’s northwest side, south of Eagle Creek Park. No other details were immediately available.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cumberland man arrested in hit and run death of boy
Reporting by Ryan Murphy and John Tufts, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ryan Murphy and John Tufts, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
