Driver jumps from car before it rolls into Eastwood Lake

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By Joanne Huist Smith, Staff Writer Updated 6:14 PM Saturday, September 26, 2009

DAYTON — John Wilson of Oakwood was making a final round of Eastwood Lake MetroPark in his ski boat, when he spotted the car in the water around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

“I must have looked at it two or three times before I realized it was a car,” Wilson said. “The first thing that went through my head: Are their people in there? Are there kids strapped into car seats? We were ready to jump in.”

Wilson drove his boat “pretty darn close” to the sinking vehicle looking for trapped victims. Then he saw the driver, 24-year-old Darrell Jackson of Dayton, on the bank. The driver shouted out to Wilson that there were no passengers inside the car.

FiveRivers Metropark Sgt. Dean Vorhees said the driver claims he lost control of the car on a steep embankment and jumped out before his Nissan Maxima rolled into the lake.

Wilson, and his 9-year-old son Ben, said the car sunk “nose first.”

“It was just like the Titanic. The trunk popped open and a bunch of bags floated out, then it went down fast,” Ben said.

Police received several calls from people at the park, off of Harshman Road, that a car was seen floating in the lake. Dayton, Riverside and MetroParks police were at the scene questioning the driver.

“Unfortunately, most of our evidence at this point is under water,” said Vorhees, late Saturday afternoon.

Divers from Dayton’s Box 21 Rescue Squad and a tow truck were called to retrieve the car from the water,

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