UPDATE @ 8 p.m. Jan. 2:
Tasha Thomas, a mother of three young boys whose voice was featured prominently nationwide after her boyfriend was shot to death by police inside the Beavercreek Walmart in August, was killed Thursday along with a friend following a car crash in Dayton. She was 26.
Thomas was a passenger in a car driven by her friend, Frederick Bailey, said her attorney, Anthony VanNoy. He said Bailey was giving Thomas a ride to her car when the crash occurred.
Thomas and Bailey were both ejected from the gray Pontiac sedan after it hit a pole and rolled at about 3 p.m. at the corner of North Broadway Street and Edgewood Avenue, said police Sgt. Creigee Coleman.
Thomas and Bailey were thrown between 75 and 100 feet away from the car, which landed on its top around a tree in a front yard on North Broadway Street. Excessive speed and alcohol may have played factors in the double fatal crash, according to Cara Neace, police public information specialist.
An autopsy performed Friday by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office showed Thomas died of “multiple trauma injuries” and Bailey from “multiple blunt force injuries” as a result of the crash.
Thomas’ mother, Diana Thomas, who said she lives with her daughter and three grandsons in Fairborn, said she was unable to talk about the crash.
On Aug. 5, Tasha Thomas took John Crawford III to Walmart to buy groceries for an outdoor party. Crawford was killed by police after a 911 caller mistook the BB/pellet gun he was carrying inside the store as a real firearm and prompted police to swarm the store and fatally shoot Crawford, who was unaware he was creating a scare. Another Walmart shopper, Angela Williams, collapsed in the mayhem and died at nearby Soin Medical Hospital.
Thomas had shared her story about Crawford’s shooting death with numerous media outlets, who also noted her death.
Thomas’ friends took to social media Friday to memorialize her. They also held a candlelight vigil for her tonight at Dayton View Park.
UPDATE @9:15 a.m., Jan. 2, 2015
A woman killed in a double fatality crash Thursday evening in Dayton is the woman who was with John Crawford the night he was fatally shot by police while he was inside the Beavercreek Walmart.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has identified the two people killed in a crash on North Broadway Street Thursday evening as Tasha Thomas, 26, of Fairborn, and Frederick Bailey, 30.
Records from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office match the date of birth, name and hometown as the Tasha Thomas who took Crawford to the Beavercreek Walmart and was later interrogated by police after their officer shot and killed Crawford, who was holding a BB/pellet gun and talking on a cell phone.
This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.
UPDATE @ 9:37 p.m., Jan. 1, 2015
Police say excessive speed led to a New Year’s Day double fatal crash.
A man and woman were killed after they were ejected when their gray Pontiac hit a pole and rolled around 3 p.m. along North Broadway Street at Edgewood Avenue, Dayton police Sgt. Creigee Coleman said.
“Witnesses on scene gave us accounts that the vehicle was traveling approximately 90 to 100 mph, lost control, hit an RTA pole and then flipped several times,” Coleman said.
The two occupants were thrown 75 to 100 feet from the vehicle, which landed on its top around a tree in a front yard on North Broadway Street.
A woman passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver, a man, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he later died.
“They appeared at this point to have succumbed to their injuries,” Coleman said.
The victims’ names were not released pending notification of family. The couple, a 28- and 30-year-old, had identification in the car, but investigators haven’t been able to locate family. Also, it’s not known what the relationship was between the crash victims, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
An autopsy will likely be performed Friday, according to the coroner’s office.
Alcohol has not been determined to be a factor, but Coleman said investigators do know the car was traveling at “an excessive rate of speed” in the residential area.
UPDATE @ 6 p.m.:
Police confirmed that two crash victims were killed after their vehicle wrecked on North Broadway Street.
A woman passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver, a man, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead of his injuries, according to Dayton police.
UPDATE @ 4:07 p.m.:
Police have draped a white sheet over a victim, according to our crew on the scene.
Witnesses said the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash.
A second victim was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, according to witnesses.
FIRST REPORT-
Dayton police are investigating a serious crash at North Broadway Street at Edgewood Avenue.
There are reports of one person who was severely injured in this crash reported just after 3 p.m.
We have a crew on the scene and will update this story when more information is available.