Two Toledo women were killed and a juvenile passenger was seriously injured Thursday evening, Oct. 29, in a two-vehicle crash near North Holland Sylvania Road and Nebraska Avenue that followed a pursuit by Lucas County sheriff’s deputies, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred at approximately 5:54 p.m., the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Troopers from the patrol’s Toledo post are investigating.
The preliminary investigation determined that the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop a 2018 Ford Escape driven by Bria E. Boone, 32, of Toledo, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Boone failed to stop, and a pursuit ensued on Interstate 475 northbound, the patrol said.
Boone exited onto Airport Highway before turning onto North Holland Sylvania Road, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Near Nebraska Avenue, Boone lost control, the SUV crossed into the lane of opposing traffic and struck a 2016 Honda CR-V driven by Laura J. Anaple, 64, of Toledo, the patrol said.
Boone was pronounced dead at the scene, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Anaple was transported to the University of Toledo Medical Center, where she succumbed to her fatal injuries, the patrol said.
The juvenile passenger in Boone’s vehicle was transported to ProMedica Toledo Hospital with life-threatening injuries, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Authorities have not released the juvenile’s name or updated condition.
The route described by troopers took the pursuit from the interstate, across Airport Highway, and onto a busy surface road at the height of the evening commute. North Holland Sylvania Road is a major north-south corridor on Toledo’s west side, lined with homes and businesses, and Nebraska Avenue is one of its signalized cross streets — a setting that left other drivers with little warning as the crash unfolded just before 6 p.m.
Fatal crashes involving pursuits are investigated in two parts in Ohio: the patrol examines the collision itself, while the agency that attempted the stop reviews its own pursuit decisions under its policies. Neither review had produced public findings as of Friday morning, and troopers have not said what prompted deputies to attempt the initial traffic stop.
The intersection was closed while emergency crews and investigators worked at the scene and reopened later Thursday evening, according to local reporting. The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and no additional findings about the circumstances of the pursuit had been announced as of Friday morning.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY