Woman struck motorcyclist head-on in Hammond and fled scene, documents show

Lizzie Kaboski

CROWN POINT -- A Hammond woman is accused of striking a motorcyclist while driving the wrong way on Indianapolis Boulevard and failing to stop at the scene, according to Lake Criminal Court documents.

Tianna Smith, 34, was charged with felony leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in moderate or serious bodily injury and misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving, court records show.

Smith struck a man on a motorcycle July 10 while driving north in the southbound lanes in a silver Mitsubishi Outlander, court documents allege. The man was thrown from his motorcycle and Smith fled the area.

A witness told police he was in the passenger seat of a friend's car heading south when he saw the oncoming vehicle traveling "pretty fast." As the Mitsubishi driver struck the motorcyclist, the bike was thrown to the west side of the road and struck a guardrail, causing injuries to the victim, according to a probable cause affidavit.

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The witness said he and other motorists stopped and used their vehicles to create a wall around the victim after the crash, as he may have been struck again due to low lighting conditions, the affidavit said.

The witness said the car had one headlight out and identified it as a gray or silver color.

Hammond police collected vehicle debris from the area and found a mirror and piece of side trim molding from the car. They used a license plate reader to identify the car as registered to Smith, the affidavit said.

Detectives went to the woman's home listed on her registration and saw a silver vehicle parked out front. A detective wrote in the affidavit that he noticed red paint transfer from the victim's red motorcycle on the car and that the mirror and side trim evidence matched the car "without question."

More than a month after the crash, the victim told police he sustained injuries to his hands, left arm and left leg, which doctors considered amputating due to the severity. He said is is unable to walk and is expected to be bedridden for the next fours months, the affidavit said.

Police spoke to Smith who apologized for what happened and said she had swerved to avoid another vehicle on the road and hit something in the process and said she "panicked" and drove off.

A warrant was issued for Smith's arrest Wednesday.

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GARY -- Police are urging witnesses to come forward after Kia Tidwell, a 42-year-old mother of six, was killed by a stray bullet after leaving her mother's Gary home.

"I want to be clear, we are trying to find justice and trying to bring some closure to this bereaved family, and also we want to make a statement that this city is not who we are when it comes to this type of behavior," Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon said.

At 8:03 p.m. Friday, Gary police responded to a reported disturbance at the McDonald's at Grant Street and 5th Avenue. Shots rang out after officers started interviewing the restaurant manager, leading the officers and other bystanders to take cover.

A vehicle passing by eastbound drove off the road and hit a tree. First responders responded to the scene and found Tidwell had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Police have spent hours canvassing, collecting evidence and reviewing security footage, Cannon said.

"There were multiple people there who witnessed this incident," Cannon said. "We are asking the public to respond to this terrible and senseless act."

Mayor Eddie Melton, at a Monday news conference with the Tidwell family at the Gary Police Department, said it was a difficult and heartbreaking situation.

"No words can ease the pain that you're feeling right now," he said. "This is not just their loss. This is the entire city's loss. Every single life in this city is precious, every single life. When violence claims the life of one of our own, we take it personal and it affects us all."

Melton pledged every possible resource would go to the investigation.

"To the citizens of Gary, we will not allow violence to determine who we are, to define who the city is," Melton said. "This crime is a reminder of the work we must do together to make Gary a safer place for everyone."

Homicides are down 25% in Gary, but one life lost is too many, Melton said. He urged anyone with information to come forward and speak up to ensure justice would be served.

"This is not just a call to address the violence that took a life this Friday, but a call to action for all of us to care for each other and to contribute to the well-being of our overall city," he said. "We must continue to invest in our communities. We must continue to provide opportunities for youth. We must also make sure this is no place for violence."

Charlotte Tidwell, the mother of Kia Tidwell, said the family is praying the case will be solved, and believes it will be.

"My daughter just left my house," she said. "She stopped by and was going home to cook for her children, her youngest, who's not even 5 yet and her daughter who's 2. I'm just thankful they weren't in the car with her. They were supposed to be in there with her."

Kia Tidwell's daughter called Charlotte Tidwell to tell her she was driving by McDonald's while a shooting was taking place.

"The last word she heard her momma say, she was calling on the name of Jesus," she said.

She had walked away from two totaled cars and they hoped she would walk away again. But when she arrived at the scene a police officer told her it was a crime scene.

"I was thinking it has to be an accident, it can't be a crime scene," she said. "But I'm saying today, this is not going to be the end, just the beginning. I'm not going to stop here. I'm just one person but we've all got to be helpers. I'm going to go downstate and say what we need here. We need a whole lot of stuff. We need more police officers. We need cameras. We just need so much. We need lights and everything. We don't want seniors to be afraid to go outside their house."

Kia Tidwell's 4-year-old daughter has been asking where she is.

"My daughter, she worked two jobs just to provide," she said. "I know I'm not the only person to have been in this spot. But we're going to take it farther. We're going to take it as far as we can. It doesn't stop. We can't allow it to stop."

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said investigators were working to bring justice for the family.

"We cannot tolerate individuals committing crimes of this nature," he said. "We know for a fact that several people know who did the shooting, several people. We're asking them to come forward, to work with us, to work with our investigators so we can bring some sense of justice for the grieving family. You never get justice when a life is lost. I know that. I've seen too many cases and been involved in too many cases to know the family is never going to be complete again. You're always going to miss your loved one."

He called upon the families of young people committing crimes to step forward and speak out.

"Mother, father, grandfather, sister, they know who's carrying these guns," Carter said. "They know who's associating with different types of activity. I've seen it in my own family. I've told some of my nephews you better leave that gang alone and not sell drugs. They don't listen -- many of them don't listen. I'm here to tell you we will find out exactly what occurred and who did this, but we need the community's support. There's no doubt about that. We have to have somebody come forward.

"Many times a parent can talk to their child and say, 'you were there, you knew something' and get them to come forward. We need some clarity in the crime that happens in our community. It hurts the entire community, not just the Gary community but the entire county I have authority over. You know what your loved ones are doing, You know what your children are doing or have a pretty good idea. We have to stop them. We have to correct them. At the very least, tell them to get the hell out of Gary. Let them go someplace else. We don't want that in our community. Speaking as an African-American, we're God-fearing people. We love one another. But these last couple generations want to harm one another. We cannot do that."

Melton said it was a wake-up call for the city.

"Enough is enough," he said. "This is a call to action for the community to step forward so we can figure out what we can do as a community to figure out what we can do to prevent this from happening again."

Anyone with information can call Detective Roger Escutia at 219-755-3855, send an email to [email protected] or call the anonymous tip line 219-207-8477.

People also can donate to help Kia Tidwell's family with expenses on GoFundMe. The campaign is entitled "Donate to help Kia's family rebuild after tragedy, organized by LaSonnye McNeil."