2 boys dead, 7 injured in multi-vehicle crash

SOUTH TOLEDO - Two boys who are related died while and seven motorists were injured after a mid-morning accident Monday involving six cars in the outbound lanes of the Anthony Wayne Trail near the Toledo Zoo.

Toledo Police say Zyeri White, 6, and Devine Chatman, 11, died as a result of the accident that happened at around 8:40 a.m. during the tail end of morning rush hour in the South End of the Glass City.

Zyeri is the nephew of Devine according to family members. They were passengers along with Quaja Butler, 8, inside a car driven by Quavonne Porter, 25, that flipped over.

Quavonne was driving her children, Zyeri and Quaja, along with her brother Devine, to Harvard Elementary on Glendale Avenue and the Anthony Wayne Trail, about a mile away.

Nine people in all, including the two boys, were sent to the University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo Hospital, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee, and Bay Park Community Hospital in Oregon with injuries ranging from serious to critical.

The seven that remain hospitalized are all from various parts of Toledo. One person was taken to a hospital by air ambulance.

According to investigators, the accident occurred when a female motorist, identified as 56-year-old Theresa Holman, traveled in-bound on The Trail and swerved to avoid stopped traffic ahead, just past the Woodsdale-Harvard Boulevard intersection.

After swerving Holman lost control of the vehicle, crossed the grassy median, and hit an outbound vehicle traveling southbound, causing the chain reaction.

The posted speed limit on the Anthony Wayne Trail near the Zoo is 50 mph.

"Fifty mph is pretty fast so if your going 50 mph and slam on your breaks, and then hit the median - which is soft and slippery - you may end up in oncoming traffic," said Capt. George Taylor, Toledo Police.

The vehicle crossed the median and hit Quavonne vehicle head-on, which was heading southbound on The Trail just north of the Zoo entrance.

The force of the impact flipped Porter's car and landed up against the gassy hillside near the Zoo parking lot fence line with Holman's car next to it. The force of the impact snapped an electric pole in two.

John Foley, Superintendent of Toledo Public Schools, issued a statement after the tragic accident.

"The entire Toledo Public School staff, especially the staff at Harvard elementary, is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death of two of our students, Devine Chatman and Zyeri White," Superintendent Foley said. "Both young men were charismatic students who who were well liked by both their teachers and their classmates."

"A team of counselors was at Harvard today and will remain at the school for the rest of the week to help both the staff and students cope with this tragedy," he added. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Devine and Zyeri's family."

Two other vehicles, a blue-colored Saturn SUV and a green-colored Pontiac -- were also forced up the grassy hillside. A fifth vehicle ended up in the high speed southbound lane while a sixth vehicle, a maroon-colored SUV,  also headed southbound, ended up in the grassy median

"This isn't the normal accident," Capt. Taylor said. "Usually there's two cars, or two or three cars, but there's a lot of traffic out here. So, there's going to be more cars involved."

The southbound lanes of the Anthony Wayne Trail were closed for most of the morning and early afternoon as police continued their initial investigation. One lane northbound lane was reopened to traffic into the downtown district.

All lanes of traffic were reopened at around 1:30 p.m.

The two boys were pronounced dead at Toledo Hospital. Porter was also taken to Toledo Hospital while Quaja was taken to St. Vincent. Their conditions are unknown.

Police also released the names of the accident victims. Elena Douglas, 38, was taken to Bay Park in Oregon, Clyde Cole, 56, was transferred to St. Vincent, and 14-year-old Loretta Harris was taken to St. Luke's.

Laura Limpert, 33, who also was involved in the accident, wasn't taken to a hospital.

Charges are pending for the driver who allegedly caused the accident.  She could be charged with anything from driving left of center to vehicular homicide.

Police continue their investigation into the cause of the accident.

(FOX Toledo's Michelle Zepeda and Shaun Hegarty contributed to this report)