A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted a 26-year-old Cleveland man on murder and 32 other counts in the October 18 hit-and-run death of bicyclist William “Frank” Mays, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced. Tyrelle Taylor was indicted October 30 on one count of murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, 19 counts of felonious assault, one count of tampering with evidence, two counts of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, and nine counts of failure to stop after an accident, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The charges stem from a chaotic flight through downtown Cleveland and across the Detroit-Superior Bridge on the afternoon of Sunday, October 18, that began, prosecutors say, with Taylor revving his engine and driving through crosswalks on West 6th Street while pedestrians were nearby, shortly after that day’s Browns game let out.
According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Cleveland Division of Police officers stationed on foot on West 6th Street attempted to stop Taylor’s black 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor. Prosecutors say he suddenly pulled away, striking another vehicle’s bumper, then turned onto West St. Clair Avenue, drove left of center over the double yellow lines and ran a red light before turning onto West 9th Street into oncoming traffic, nearly striking several pedestrians in crosswalks.
Still driving into oncoming traffic on West 9th Street, Taylor struck four vehicles stopped at the stoplight at Superior Avenue, a collision that broke off his front passenger wheel, the prosecutor’s office said. He turned onto Superior Avenue, struck a bicycle lane flex post, and continued on three wheels over the Detroit-Superior Bridge toward Ohio City.
Approaching West 25th Street, prosecutors say, Taylor veered into the green-labeled, clearly marked bicycle lane on the far right shoulder, sideswiping a sixth vehicle and striking Mays, 35, of Highland Hills, who was riding his bicycle in the lane. The prosecutor’s office says Taylor continued fleeing while dragging Mays, struck a seventh vehicle, then turned onto West 28th Street and crashed into the center of the roundabout at West 28th Street and Franklin Boulevard.
Cleveland police investigators determined that Mays had become lodged in the truck’s wheel well and was dragged approximately 0.4 miles — 2,112 feet — according to the prosecutor’s office. Officers directing traffic nearby located Taylor’s abandoned truck, and Mays was found in the grass several feet behind it. Cleveland EMS took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead roughly 90 minutes after he was struck.
Prosecutors say Taylor fled the roundabout on foot and, in an effort to evade police, approached a mission location near West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, told several people there that he was homeless and needed clothing, changed into clothing they gave him, and left the area on foot. Surveillance footage and witness testimony linked Taylor to the crimes, the prosecutor’s office said.
On October 21, three days after the crash, Taylor turned himself in and was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and Cleveland police. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley called the case one of the most disturbing he has witnessed in his 10-year career as prosecutor, according to WKYC’s reporting of O’Malley’s October 30 news conference.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: the sequence of collisions, the route, and the charge list all come from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announcement of the October 30 indictment, and Cleveland 19 News and WKYC have both reported the indictment. What we’re still waiting on: Taylor’s arraignment date at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, which the prosecutor’s office says will be set at a later date, and any statement from Taylor or a defense attorney — none has been reported. An indictment is an accusation, and Taylor is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case adds to a grim stretch of fatal roadway incidents NewsForce247 has covered in Northeast Ohio, including the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Jaylen Weems at Cleveland’s Kerruish Park and a wrong-way crash that killed a woman on Youngstown’s Himrod Avenue Expressway.
What happens next: Taylor will be arraigned at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center at a later date, where the charges will be formally read and a plea entered. NewsForce247 will update this story when the arraignment is scheduled.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY