MITCHELL — An Orleans man was arrested Monday afternoon after witnesses reported seeing a woman being forcibly pushed from a moving pickup truck on State Road 37 and tumbling down a roadside embankment.
Travis Armstrong, 53, was taken into custody by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department following the highway incident. He faces multiple preliminary charges, including domestic battery, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and OWI endangerment.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Officer Kaden Flynn, the incident began on June 8, 2026, when deputies responded to what was initially reported as an unknown medical emergency at 1641 State Road 37 in Mitchell.
Upon arrival, Officer Flynn discovered a female lying on the side of the highway. She told the officer that she and her husband, Travis, had been traveling southbound when a heated verbal argument broke out. She stated that while Travis was driving, he struck her twice in the face with a closed fist—once on her lip and once on the side of her head—before physically pushing her out of the vehicle.
Officer Flynn documented visible injuries on the victim, noting a laceration and swelling to her lower lip. While being treated in the back of an ambulance, the woman added that both she and her husband had been drinking alcohol earlier in the day.
A passing motorist provided a critical eyewitness account that corroborated the victim’s claims. She told investigators she was driving southbound when she noticed a white Chevrolet single-cab pickup truck with a board in place of its rear window or tailgate.
The motorist reported seeing the male driver reach over, grab the female passenger, and forcibly push her out of the moving truck’s passenger side. She witnessed the woman tumble down the steep embankment alongside the highway. According to the witness, the truck briefly activated its hazard lights before fleeing south at a high rate of speed.
The injured female was transported by Lawrence County EMS to a local hospital for further medical evaluation and treatment.
A short time later, Lawrence County Dispatch advised officers that the suspect vehicle had been spotted at a residence in the 800 block of Parks Addition Road in Mitchell. Captain Anthony Pope and Sergeant Robin Compton arrived at the home first, located the white Chevrolet truck, and detained Travis Armstrong.
After being read his Miranda rights, Armstrong agreed to speak with Officer Flynn. He admitted that he and his wife had been traveling from their home in Orleans and had been drinking. However, he denied any physical violence, claiming he “didn’t touch her a bit.”
“Well, we was drinking, and she wanted to cry about her mother passing away,” Armstrong told the officer, claiming his wife simply wanted to get out of the truck, so he pulled over near the local drive-in theater and let her exit voluntarily. He claimed he tried to help her back into the vehicle, but she refused, and he drove to his cousin’s house to spend the night to get away from her.
During the interview, Armstrong admitted he had consumed “maybe four or five” alcoholic beverages three to four hours before driving and stated he knew he was over the legal limit.
Officer Flynn conducted standard field sobriety tests, which Armstrong failed.
A subsequent roadside portable breath test registered a blood alcohol content of 0.127%, well above Indiana’s legal driving limit of 0.08%.
Armstrong agreed to a chemical test. He was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where a legal blood sample was drawn by a registered nurse. Following the medical procedure, Armstrong was transported to the Lawrence County Jail, where he was booked and remanded into custody.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
