The lawsuit stems from an Aug. 26, 2019, fatal crash in the area of East Third Street and Patterson Boulevard. Authorities said Raymond Walters, 34, allegedly stabbed his father multiple times with a knife and fled the scene in a pickup truck.
“(Walters) eventually crashed the truck on Airway Road in Riverside,” prosecutors said in a release in 2019 announcing his indictment. “When the Riverside Police responded to the traffic crash, the defendant stole a Riverside police cruiser and drove away at a high rate of speed. Minutes later, the defendant struck multiple vehicles in downtown Dayton … killing two six-year-old girls and injuring others.”
Walters has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court for a trial in September.
The lawsuit alleges Riverside Police “breached their duty of care by negligently and/or recklessly operating its motor vehicle.”
The court record does not name the police officer involved, instead referring to him only as John Doe.
“When he approached the scene, John Doe parked his cruiser in an area that was accessible to Walters,” the lawsuit says. “Before exiting his police cruiser, John Doe failed to engage any safety device to prevent the cruiser from being shifted into drive.”
The lawsuit alleges the officer walked away from his cruiser with the door ajar and the engine running.
“John Doe failed to supervise or monitor the police cruiser or instruct another officer to supervise or monitor the police cruiser to ensure Walters would not gain access to the vehicle,” the lawsuit says. “John Doe’s police cruiser had the ability to travel at a high rate of speed, possessed deadly weapons, had a police radio and computer, had overhead emergency lights installed and posed a risk of physical harm to others if taken by Walters.”
The lawsuit says Walters traveled towards downtown Dayton at over 100 miles per hour and crashed into Melissa Jasko’s Honda Odyssey near the Dayton Public Library. Seven children were in the vehicle, including Eleanor and Penelope, the lawsuit says.
The girls were cousins and best friends who did everything together, the families of the girls previously told this news organization.
The lawsuit also says Walters is responsible for the crash and he is being sued, too.
“As a direct and proximate result of Walters’ actions and/or omissions (the girls) died,” the lawsuit says.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
A message to the parents’ attorney, John Smith, wasn’t returned Friday. Also, a message to attorney Dalma Grandjean, who is listed in the lawsuit as the attorney for Riverside, didn’t return a message.
The lawsuit says the families have suffered physical harm, emotional distress and mental anguish and seek at least $25,000 in the case.
About the Author
