Double-fatal crash with RTA bus latest involving area police chases

The crash that killed two people in a collision with an RTA bus near Ohio 49 in Trotwood on Sunday is the latest Dayton area incident involving drivers fleeing police.

Kyren Wright, 18, of Dayton, and an unidentified teenager died after Christopher Baker, 18, of Dayton, sought to escape police who attempted to stop his vehicle late Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The accident occurred at Free Pike and Ohio 49 when a Pontiac driven by Baker slammed into the bus after the car fled the traffic stop, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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At least three other deaths have occurred in the past year from area police chases. They include:

•Nov. 19, 2018: Leonard James Guy Jr. of Dayton was killed in wreck after a car fleeing Moraine police crashed in Dayton.

A Nissan driven by Michael E. Wade reached speeds of about 55 miles per hour before it crashed at the intersection of West Stewart and South Broadway streets, police said.

The crash, which ejected Wade and Guy from the car, occurred after Moraine police sought to make a traffic stop near Dryden Road around midnight.

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Large pieces of the car were found at different corners of the intersection, authorities said.

•Sept. 11, 2018: A longtime area Realtor was killed in a police chase in which she was not involved.

Mary Taulbee of Lebanon died in the high-speed chase on Ohio 741 through Moraine and Miami Twp. Taulbee’s car slid into the path of a Moraine police cruiser chasing a stolen Jeep, the driver of which was seeking to flee after the vehicle was reported stolen, authorities said.

Taulbee’s car collided with the cruiser driven by Officer Matt Barrie after her vehicle was hit by another car seeking to avoid the oncoming stolen Jeep, according to the OSHP.

Both the Jeep – driven by Alyssa Irwin-Debraux of Dayton — and the police cruiser were reported to have reached speeds of 80 mph, records show.

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Irwin-Debraux wrecked the Jeep minutes later near the Dayton Mall and was arrested, police. Earlier this year, she was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

July 14, 2018: A Dayton woman was killed after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole during a police pursuit that began after a failed traffic stop at Gettysburg Avenue and Oakridge Drive.

Ebony Radford, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened about 1:40 a.m., authorities said.

The driver, Thurston Melson, 37, was hospitalized in serious condition.

Police said said the car failed to stop, turned right on Oakridge Drive, then lost control and crashed into an RTA pole after a short, 20-second pursuit.

Melson was charged with several criminal counts, two of which were aggravated vehicular homicide, court records show. The case is pending in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, and bond has been set at $100,000.

-MORE COVERAGE ON THIS ISSUE:

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