AKRON, Ohio — Akron police report a Tuesday night crash involving a stolen Kia that claimed the life of an 18-year-old and left two other 18-year-old teens in the vehicle with serious injuries.
Akron Police Deputy Chief Brian Harding told News 5 officers spotted a stolen red Kia Forte traveling at a high rate of speed at Kelly Avenue and Tech Way Drive, and when police tried to make a traffic stop, the vehicle accelerated to speeds of 100 mph.
Harding said officers briefly chased the stolen Kia but broke off the pursuit moments before the vehicle hit a stopped car and slammed into a utility pole at Kelly and 3rd Avenues.
The Summit County Medical Examiners Office told News 5 that 18-year-old Stephonne Jackson was killed in the crash, but Akron police still aren't sure which of the three teens in the stolen Kia was driving when the collision took place.
Harding explained the process Akron police officers go through when deciding to give chase and when to break off a pursuit.
“Our officers constantly evaluate the chase for the seriousness of what the crime is associated with the conditions and what’s going on with the offender's behavior," Harding said. "I believe at that time, with the speed the officers out there were going, they canceled the pursuit.”
Harding told News 5 that the Akron police chase policy is currently under examination, but it said it's still too early to give details on any potential updates that are being considered; it's an evaluation that is currently in the hands of the city law department.
“We always review our policies, chase procedures, one that we’re currently in the process of reviewing to look to see if there is any updates that we need to make in that," Harding said. "It’s too soon to put out any information on what those revisions may be.”
The incident left Ward 5 Akron Councilwoman Tara Mosley extremely emotional and calling for chase policy revisions after she lost two nephews in April 2022, after the car they were riding in fled the scene of an Akron police traffic stop, hit another vehicle, a concrete barrier and plunged into a canal on Easter Sunday. Akron police report a total of three young men were killed in the crash following a police traffic stop involving a missing license plate and turn signal violation.
Mosely is hoping police chase policy revisions will have officers relying more on Flock license plate reading cameras, especially when it involves suspected stolen vehicles and drivers who leave the scene of traffic stops. Mosely is hoping officers will only give chase when it is absolutely necessary.
"I hate that we're always having to be reactive as a city, this is something that could have been put in place when it was first put into the forefront, but here we are now trying to expedite an ordinance," Mosley said. “We as city council voted on these flock cameras for these very reasons; you’re now going to grab the plate number, yes the car may have been stolen, but that flock camera would have been able, once you dump that information into the system, it would have been able to track this vehicle and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
News 5 will continue to follow through on this developing story as Akron police investigate a series of events that may have led up to the fatal crash.
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