2 children dead, 10 hurt in crash of stolen Ohio police cruiser, officials say

DAYTON, Ohio — Two children died and 10 others were injured Monday night in a crash that involved a stolen police cruiser that followed a stabbing in Dayton, Ohio.

The children were identified Tuesday as Eleanor McBride of Huber Heights and Penelope Jasko of Dayton, according to Montgomery County Coroner Kent E. Harshbarger. They were both 6 years old and passed away at Dayton Children's Hospital, officials said.

The suspect, identified as Lloyd Walters, 32, was accused of stabbing his father before stealing a Riverside police cruiser and crashing in Dayton, resulting in the deaths of the two young girls.

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Update 4:11 p.m. EDT Aug. 28: Raymond Walters Jr., the suspect in the deadly police cruiser crash and stabbing, is in custody at the Montgomery County Jail, according to jail officials.

Walters is in the process of being booked into the facility, according to the jail.

Update 8:40 a.m. EDT Aug. 28: Lloyd Walters is no longer a patient at Miami Valley Hospital, officials said Wednesday morning. Also, there are no indications that Raymond Walters Jr. has been charged. He was not listed on the Montgomery County Jail website as of 7:15 a.m.

WHIO reached out to Dayton Children's Hospital for an update on the condition of the children who were injured in the crash. However, the information was not available. A spokesperson said the information may be available later this morning.

Update 11:40 p.m. EDT Aug. 27: Police plan to seek murder charges against a 32-year-old man accused of stabbing his father before stealing a Riverside police cruiser and crashing in Dayton, resulting in the death of two young girls.

• Raymond Walters Jr. reportedly stabbed his father, Lloyd Walters, on Xenia Avenue in Dayton around 7:10 p.m.
• Raymond Walters Jr. crashed on Airway Road in Riverside and stole police SUV at scene, sped away
• Stolen police SUV and two vehicles, including van, crashed near the Dayton Metro Library downtown
• Two children, Eleanor McBride and Penelope Jasko, were killed and 10 others, including 5 children were injured
• Raymond Walters Jr. was injured and taken to hospital; he is in custody

Original report: Dayton police Maj. Eric Henderson said the events leading to the crash are believed to have started around 7:10 p.m. with a complaint about a stabbing on Xenia Avenue.

A short time after the stabbing was reported, authorities received a report about a car crash on Airway Road in Riverside. Police responded to the crash, at which time officials said the suspect jumped into the cruiser.

According to witness John Posten, an officer used his Taser on the suspect when he refused to get out of the police vehicle. The suspect and officer fought, and the suspect put the car into reverse and sped away, WHIO-TV reported. The suspect hit another cruiser as he fled, according to the news station.

About eight minutes later, the stolen cruiser and two other vehicles, including a van carrying seven children, crashed, authorities said.

Denorris Hopgood was headed to dinner with his children when saw the aftermath of the accident on East Third Street. He said he heard someone scream that children were in a van involved in the multiple-vehicle crash.

"I jumped out and did my best to get as many children out of the van as I could," he told WHIO-TV's Sean Cudahy. He said it was difficult to see what he witnessed: one child severely injured and another pinned between a door and a seat.

He said there were seven children in the van: one in a car seat, one in a booster seat, one in the front, two in the middle and two in the rear.

Two of the children died and a third was in life-threatening condition after the crash, Henderson said.

Police took the suspect into custody at the scene of the accident on Third Street. He has been taken to a hospital, officials said. His name, age and condition were not immediately released.

The conditions of the injured also were not known.

Tiffany Hameil, who was waiting for a bus on East Third Street, said she saw an oncoming car hit the stolen police SUV in the intersection at Patterson Road. One of the vehicles was spun around in the collision and hit vehicles parked along East Third Street near the library.

"I was terrified," the Riverside resident said. "There were car parts flying all over the street."

Police set up a perimeter at least a block long in each direction from the Dayton Metro Library on East Third Street immediately after the crash there.

At least six medic units were called to East Third Street.

Cox Media Group