Driver indicted in Trail crash

SOUTH TOLEDO - A Lucas County grand jury indicted Theresa Holman, 56, of Toledo, on Thursday with two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the Oct. 20 double-fatal crash on the Anthony Wayne Trail.

The two counts are both second-degree misdemeanors and if convicted Holman faces up to six months in jail.

Two children were killed in the six-vehicle wreck. The two boys, Zyeri White, 6, and Devine Chatman, 11, were extended family members.

Seven additional motorists were injured, including Holman, in the Oct. 20 crash in the outbound lanes of the Anthony Wayne Trail near the Toledo Zoo.

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

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.

According to investigators, the accident occurred when 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."

 

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