INDIANAPOLIS — On June 17, 2022, Christine Stinson’s whole world stopped.
“It left me shattered. My life is shattered,” Stinson said. “It’s like a tsunami has hit you, and you don’t know how to function. You don’t know which way is up. You are fighting for balance.”
Her son, Joseph “Evan” Dely, was driving to the airport to see his stepbrother’s family in Colorado for a camping trip around 3:45 a.m.
At the time, he was on Interstate 465 southbound, just south of the Interstate 74 interchange, when another driver slammed into the back of his Jeep Wrangler.
Investigators said the vehicle flipped several times, and the 31-year-old from Muncie was killed instantly.
Stinson was at home getting ready when she heard about the fatal crash. At the time, she didn’t know it was her son until her husband called later that morning.
“I said, ‘It is him, wasn’t it?’ and he said, ‘He’s gone,’” Stinson said.
The next few days were a blur for her family.
“I had to identify who my son was off a photograph of him in a body bag lying in a side ditch on 465,” Stinson said.
It’s an agonizing pain that Stinson and her family say will never go away.
“My son’s only fault was to be in the vicinity of someone that was so selfish and had absolutely no regard for human life,” Stinson said. “It could’ve happened to anyone, but it was my son that was taken.”
The other driver was 22-year-old Teriyon Carter. According to court documents, Carter told police he dropped his phone while using GPS. Carter said he went to reach for it and when he looked up, he saw the Jeep, but it was too late.
Carter told police he tried to swerve but the front passenger side of his car hit the back of Dely’s Jeep.
Police later learned Carter was driving while high and traveling 89 mph in a 55 mph zone. Dely was traveling at 61 mph.
Records show Carter was on parole at the time of the crash after an armed robbery conviction in 2017. He was released from the Indiana Department of Corrections in February.
“I have nothing to say to the person that stole my son because every breath he takes is a breath stolen from my son,” Stinson said. “I will let the criminal justice system speak for me, and again, all I can hope for is that he is held accountable for his choices and his actions.”
On Dec. 30, Carter was officially charged with causing death when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death when operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood, and reckless homicide.
He is currently at the Putnamville Correctional Facility for a parole violation.
Stinson said instead of a parole violation, she believes it should’ve been upgraded to a felony homicide. She is now working to change that and has been in contact with state legislators about sponsoring a bill.
“Take all the other factors out — the speed and him being high — take all of that out, but for the fact that he was violating his parole, my son would’ve made it onto that airplane and would’ve been on the camping trip,” Stinson said.
Now, instead of being able to hold her son, Stinson is left with only photographs.
“This was when he was graduating,” Stinson said as she showed a photo of Dely in the Air Force. “He had graduated from basic training.”
This is just one of the precious moments she holds close to her heart.
“I never missed a chance to tell him how much I loved him and how proud I was of the man he is,” Stinson said. “When Evan loved someone, you knew it. His hugs were encompassing. His eyes would just glisten with love.”
Stinton said her son was an avid hiker and camper. He loved gaming and reading. He served in the U.S. Air Force for nine years as a linguist analyst.
She said even though he was incredibly quiet, he had a dry but intelligent sense of humor that everyone loved.
“Justice for Evan would’ve been that he survived that crash and that he was still here. That’s justice for Evan,” Stinson said.