Chief: No chase prior to deadly Trotwood crash involving car, bus

TROTWOOD — Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson said there was no police pursuit in Sunday’s fatal wreck that killed two teens and hurt 7 others when a car and bus crashed at the intersection of Ohio route 49 and Free Pike.

“At no time was a Trotwood police officer chasing this vehicle or any other police department chasing this vehicle.” Wilson said.

A Trotwood officer was on routine patrol sitting at an intersection near the Storage of America and Lowe’s locations on Shiloh Springs Road around 5:20 p.m., when she noticed a vehicle with heavily tinted windows and an expired vehicle registration.

The officer turned onto Shiloh Springs and began following the vehicle without her overhead lights activated, Wilson said. The car made an illegal right turn onto Ohio route 49 south at Shiloh Springs.

As the car traveled south on route 49, the Trotwood officer activated her overhead lights as she approached the Turner Road and route 49 intersection for a couple seconds, before deciding not to pursue the vehicle, Wilson said.

The Trotwood officer was decelerating as the car approached the Free Pike and route 49 interchange, which is where the car collided with an RTA bus.

Cruiser camera video, which shows 60 seconds of footage prior to an officer activating their overhead lights, showed the crash happen and the Trotwood officer exiting her cruiser to run to the aid of the crash victims.

A pair of teens – Mya’nie Nabors, 15, of Trotwood, and Kyren Wright, 18, of Dayton –were passengers in the speeding car that hit the bus.  Both were killed.

“This is saddening and heartbreaking,” Wilson said.

The car’s driver, Christopher Baker, 18, of Dayton, survived the crash, but hospital officials have not been able to release an updated condition.

Six people, including the driver, on the bus were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Nabors and Wright were among seven to die in multiple traffic accidents in Greene and Montgomery counties in a 31-hour stretch this past weekend. It was the deadliest weekend for traffic wrecks in those counties combined since at least 2014, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of the community’s most precious citizens,” Trotwood Mayor Mary McDonald said.  “We will be forever impacted by this.”

Nabors was a student at Trotwood-Madison High School, authorities said.

Wright was last enrolled at Dunbar Early College High School on Feb. 22 of this year, according to Dayton Public Schools. Baker is also a former DPS student, last enrolled at Meadowdale High School March 17, 2018, DPS officials said in an email.

Tuesday night, a crowd - many carrying balloons - gathered at the accident site in Trotwood to remember Mya’nie Nabors. The teen’s funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 18 at Potter’s House Dayton International Ministries, 2050 Germantown St. in Dayton.