BROOKLYN, Ohio — An investigation continues into Tuesday's police chase, crash, standoff and shooting involving police that started in Parma Heights and ended over Interstate 480 on Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn.
On Wednesday, Parma Heights Police released a portion of the patrol car dashcam and officer bodycam footage of the incident, which began just before 11 a.m. Tuesday.
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The department had just been notified by a neighboring agency of a man, 45-year-old Patrick Kerr, threatening to commit suicide. They were told he was armed and wanted to inflict harm.
At one point, as they followed Kerr's Black F-150, things went smoothly with Kerr even slowing and pulling off to the right as an approaching ambulance passed.
It wasn't long after, though, that he took off, running a red light at Snow Road and accelerating north on Chevrolet Boulevard out of sight towards Brookpark Road, where he turned east.
As the officer approached Tiedeman and Brookpark, the pickup is seen coming out of a gas station parking lot, accelerating north on Tiedeman towards I-480 in the center lanes of traffic, with the video stopping just before the collision with two other vehicles.
Officer body cam footage shows them ordering Kerr to roll down his window and drop the gun he had pointed at his own head, as he said he wanted to kill himself.
Rescue crews, meanwhile, were able to remove three injured occupants of the other two vehicles. They were only able to get to the second driver, though, under protective cover from a SWAT vehicle. By the time they did, the driver, Ronald Liszka, 62, of Westlake, was dead.
The standoff continued for more than four hours when police say Kerr, who had a history of threatening suicide by cop, got out of his truck with a gun in his hand and was shot and killed by a tactical officer.
The Ohio BCI is investigating the officer-involved shooting. Parma Heights and Brooklyn are investigating the chase. As they do, Liszka's family has tried to make sense of the freak nature of the incident. His white car captured attention for its bright red American Red Cross decals on the doors.
A father of two adult children, Liszka grew up in North Olmsted and attended Bowling Green University, according to his son. He told News 5 his dad was a driver for a private company that delivered blood and medical supplies to area hospitals. He said his father's connection to the Red Cross dated back decades before when his dad's older brother became ill.
"My uncle was sick, he had Lupus, and my dad had met somebody in his unit that needed blood and so he started giving blood," Liszka's son told News 5. "He gave blood to the Red Cross for 20-25 some odd years, and then just as he got older, he couldn't give blood anymore, and then eventually this opportunity came up to be a medical courier. So he was delivering blood to area hospitals, blood and medical supplies."
News 5 reached out to the third-party contractor he worked with as well as the family of the people in the other vehicle involved, but have not heard back.
"It's been a lot to take in," Liszka said. "It's gonna be hard for a while."
What he hopes is that his father's story will inspire others to follow in his footsteps by giving to the Red Cross.
"My dad's a pretty private guy, but I think something good could come out of it," Liszka said. "Fourth of July time, there are a lot of accidents and they need blood and they need a lot of donations. So if we could help other people through this, I think that'd be something good."
