CINCINNATI – Police said they found multiple handguns and marijuana inside the mangled wreckage after a car crashed into a parked SUV and a tree in Carthage just after midnight Wednesday.
That may explain why the driver fled after Springfield Township officers said they attempted to stop the car with three men inside. The car owner also had multiple driving suspensions, police said.
Moments later, it crashed in the front yard at 160 North Bend Road, killing all of the occupants.
“There was debris everywhere and the car was wrapped around the tree and it was horrible,” said Kimberly Stall, who heard the crash.
“I heard like a bomb went off and I heard my neighbor screaming.”
Cincinnati police identified the driver as Mussah Pierre, 36, and the passengers as John Edwards, 35, and Jermaine Tucker, 21.
Officers were not chasing the car when it crashed, according to Springfield Township police.
Officers had attempted to make a traffic stop on Caldwell Drive at Vine Street, but the vehicle continued on, police said. Officers said they followed it at normal speed west to North Bend Road, then saw a passenger throw something from the car. That’s when the car took off at high speed eastbound on North Bend, police said.
Officers said the car was going too fast to safely pursue it, and they lost sight of it after it turned onto North Bend. They drove down North Bend and found the crashed car about 1 mile away.
According to Cincinnati police investigators, Pierre was speeding and lost control. The 2013 Chevrolet Impala went off the left side of the road, hit a white SUV parked in a driveway, then overturned and hit a tree.
The accident occurred about 12:15 a.m. The victims died at the scene. No one was wearing a seatbelt, according to Cincinnati police.
Police said they don’t know if Pierre was impaired.
Springfield Township police said they attempted to stop the Impala for a marked lanes violation. They said department policy does not allow a chase for traffic-only violations, but there can be an exception if an OVI is suspected. They also consider factors like time of day and road conditions.
