University Park Couple Killed When SUV Falls From Indianapolis Parking Garage
UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A couple from south suburban University Park was killed in a freak accident this week, when their car plunged from a fourth-story parking garage in Indianapolis.
Charles Hunt, 73, was a Vietnam veteran. He and his wife, Iristeen – or Iris, 70 – were active in the local VFW Post 311 in University Park. Those who knew them well were left in mourning.
"Charles was the fun guy," said VFW hall house manager Willie Goodson, a friend of the Hunts'.
Charles Hunt was also a retired Chicago Transit Authority Employee. He and Iris spent a lot of his time at the VFW hall.
"We were in Vietnam together," said Larry Woolridge. "He was a well-known character."
But of course, stories of battle were not the topic of conversation Thursday night. Instead, the focus was on the Hunts and their tragic accident.
WTTV-TV CBS 4 in Indianapolis reported around 9:50 a.m. Wednesday the couple's brown 2013 Lincoln MKX was headed south in the Market Center Garage in downtown Indianapolis when it hit the left rear corner of a parked car, struck the parking garage wall, and plunged to the ground.
9:50 AM - Tragic accident kills two adults in car after vehicle drives off 4th floor parking garage at 222 E Market, inverts and lands in alley. #IFD Heavy Extrication and Collapse Rescue Team dispatched to scene. @IMPDnews investigating. pic.twitter.com/5qfXaLhQoE
— Indianapolis Fire Department ???? (@IFD_NEWS) October 23, 2019
The car landed upside down on its roof, killing the Hunts.
"That really hit me right then - what happened? Why did the car go off the parking lot? What happened? Did the accelerator stop or hang up or what?" Woolridge said.
"Just shock, just shock – the way it happened and how it happened," Goodson added.
In May, video captured one of the Hunts' final dances as they celebrated Iris' 70th birthday in May. It is a moment their other family at the VFW holds onto.
"I lost a buddy," Woolridge said, "a fishing buddy."
The Hunts were in Indianapolis visiting a sick relative. As of Thursday night, police had not determined the circumstances surrounding the crash or what led up to it, but were calling it accidental.