Man killed in crash after taking off from police with kids in car

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - What seemingly started as a police traffic stop ended in a deadly crash moments later Friday night.

Barricades, broken glass, and a boarded-up store front are the pieces left behind after that car crashed into a hardware store in Toledo, killing the 25-year-old driver. His three passengers, ages 2, 4 and 24, were taken to a local hospital for evaluation, police said.

Police say only the 24-year-old and the 4-year old passengers sustained injuries. The driver died just over 30 minutes after the wreck.

TPD said Thomas Turney, 25, was driving northbound on Oak just south of Greenwood before driving off the road, onto the sidewalk and then striking a building in the 500 block of Oak, listed online as Ondrus Hardware Co.

The car then crossed all lanes of traffic on Oak and came to a rest on the other side of the street, TPD said.

Turney was taken to a local hospital and died from his injuries he suffered at the scene, according to officials. The three other passengers were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for injuries.

Kathy Pfaff was with her friend, working next door at Hangers East Side Saloon, when she heard the crash.

“We heard the noise of a car going by at a very high speed,” Pfaff said. “I don’t know how to explain the noise, but you could tell what it was. And then we heard the loud boom.”

She saw the aftermath of the crash and the emergency vehicles that responded.

Pfaff said the car was severely damaged.

“You couldn’t even tell what kind of vehicle it was,” Pfaff said.

On Saturday, small car parts were still scattered on lawn outside a neighbor’s house. Street barricades reading “road closed” were left on the side of the road.

Pfaff said part of Oak St. was temporarily shut down after the crash. She closed her bar early once police blocked off the area.

“Everything was closed off, you couldn’t get here, you couldn’t get anywhere on this street,” Pfaff said.

Police say this is an ongoing investigation.

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