Franck Bazil is charged with leaving the scene of the Indianapolis crash that killed 9-year-old RJ McLain.

The counts are about leaving, not about causing the crash. WIBC reported both charges are failure to remain at the scene. WRTV reported police saw no sign of impairment and that, according to the affidavit, Bazil told officers he drove away because he was "scared, not knowing where to go." What he knew when he left, and how long he stayed, is what those counts put in front of a court.

WIBC reported that Franck Bazil, 31, was formally charged on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, with one count of failure to remain at the scene of a crash resulting in death and one count of failure to remain at the scene of a crash with moderate or serious bodily injury. Killed in the crash on Sunday, Oct. 4, was Roland McLain III, known to his family as RJ. WIBC reported he was struck hours before he was to celebrate his birthday, and IndyStar reported he died hours before his birthday party. His 6-year-old brother was injured and has since been released from the hospital, WIBC reported. A charge is an accusation. It is not a finding.

WRTV, citing police, reported that Bazil was making a right turn near the Wylde at Eagle Creek apartments off West 46th Street when he cut the turn too sharp, drove over the curb and into the grass, and struck the two boys. RJ was rushed to a hospital with grave injuries and later died, the station reported. His brother was admitted to intensive care in critical condition with internal injuries and was later described by police as stable. That is the police account of the crash. Neither count accuses Bazil of causing it.

According to a probable cause affidavit WRTV obtained, Lawrence police officers found the black Ford SUV less than three hours after the crash using license plate reader technology. He was in line at a car wash near Pendleton Pike and East 56th Street, and officers waited for him to leave the lot before pulling him over. WIBC reported Indianapolis police tracked the SUV with Flock cameras and that the arrest came about two hours after the crash. The affidavit says Bazil told police he was leaving his apartment when he hit something, that someone honked and told him he had hit a child, and that he stopped but did not check on anyone. He said he left because he was "scared, not knowing where to go," drove around, and called his family, who told him to turn himself in. He said he had not been drinking or using drugs. Police did not observe impairment but took him for a blood draw, WRTV reported. Those are his statements as the affidavit records them.

WIBC reported that Bazil is being held without bond pending his initial hearing. That hearing was scheduled for Wednesday and was pushed back one day because the court had not been told he requested an interpreter. In a statement WRTV published, Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie A. Lewis said, "Accountability matters, particularly when a child's life has been lost," and called for a hard look at traffic and pedestrian safety in neighborhoods. Law&Crime also reported on the affidavit's account of the honking driver. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.