In a tiny Indiana dot on the map called Lynn, everybody knew Brad Fisher. If a kid got lost, Brad was the guy who brought him home and stayed on the porch to make sure everything was alright. If the local high school needed a baseball umpire, Brad was right behind the plate. If a house caught fire or a street needed repair, he was right there wearing whatever hat the town needed. For 27 years, he served as Lynn’s town marshal. On a quiet Wednesday morning around 8:30 a.m., he stepped out onto the side of the road to do what he had always done—protect his neighbors.
The trouble started just down the road near County Road 400 West and County Road 50 South in Randolph County. A sheriff’s deputy spotted a stolen van driven by 34-year-old Maci Marquelle Atkinson from nearby Winchester. Atkinson had active felony warrants out for her arrest. When the deputy turned on the police cruiser’s emergency lights to pull her over, she slammed on the gas instead, speeding eastbound down U.S. 36 straight toward Lynn.
Hearing the high-speed chase coming his way, Fisher drove ahead to set up tire-deflation devices near the intersection of U.S. 27 and U.S. 36. He parked his department truck on the side of the highway and stepped out, hoping to stop the van safely before it tore into his town. But as Fisher stood behind his truck and tried to retreat toward a ditch, the incoming van veered straight toward him, hitting him head-on. The runaway van kept going until it slammed into a dump truck down the road.
Emergency crews rushed Fisher to Ascension St. Vincent Randolph Hospital in Winchester. Despite doctors working quickly to save him, the 50-year-old marshal died from the severe injuries he took in the crash. Atkinson was also taken to the hospital for treatment before officers booked her directly into the Randolph County Jail on her outstanding felony warrant, with heavier criminal charges coming after state police finish their investigation.
Court records show Atkinson was already facing a mountain of legal trouble before Wednesday morning. Her pending charges included unlawful possession of a syringe, battery, narcotics and marijuana possession, resisting law enforcement, operating a vehicle while carrying controlled substances, and a previous guilty plea for false informing back in 2020. Just the day before the crash, a warrant had been issued for her arrest after she walked out of an inpatient treatment facility.
For the 950 people living in Lynn, about 90 minutes northeast of Indianapolis near the Ohio border, the loss hit like a ton of bricks. Hours after the crash, friends and family gathered outside the Lynn Municipal Building as officers lowered the flag to half-staff. Fisher was not just the marshal—he was also the fire captain, the street supervisor, and a dad whose dedication ran in the family. His son was recently sworn in as a Randolph County sheriff’s deputy, following his father right into public service, while his daughter works as a local schoolteacher.
By Wednesday night, grief hung heavy over the quiet streets. Neighbor Daniel Frye remembered his friend simply as a giver who gave everything to his neighbors. Another local, Ruben Delapaz, said folks in town barely realize the full size of what they lost. To honor the fallen marshal, the local school district organized a community vigil on the Randolph Southern baseball diamond, inviting the town to gather on the field where Fisher spent so many afternoons making calls and watching local kids play.
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