Dayton man sentenced in Harrison Twp. chase that ended with deadly crash

Caleb Lance Whitfield Jr.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Caleb Lance Whitfield Jr.

A 22-year-old Dayton man was sentenced to prison in connection to a deadly Harrison Twp. crash that took place during a chase involving deputies in June 2020.

Caleb Lance Whitfield Jr. was sentenced to at least 17 years in prison, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

On June 25, 2020, Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies saw a car that was reported stolen in an aggravated robbery.

“When the deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, it struck a detective’s vehicle and fled,” a press release from the prosecutor’s office said. “The deputies followed the vehicle, which was driving extremely recklessly.”

The car crashed shortly after the chase began.

Whitfield, who was reportedly driving the car, attempted to flee but was taken into custody, according to the prosecutor’s office.

One of the passengers, 18-year-old Rodnesha Thompson, died after being taken to the hospital. Two other passengers in the car reportedly suffered serious injuries.

On March 1, a jury found Whitfield guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, vehicular assault and resisting arrest, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Wednesday Judge Dennis Adkins overruled a motion for acquittal filed by Whitfield’s defense.

In the motion, the defense argued “evidence and testimony introduced at trial was insufficient to prove the defendant was the driver beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to court records.

Adkins wrote the defense disagreeing with the jury’s determination of the witnesses’ and evidence’s credibility is not grounds to overturn the verdict.

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