Dayton police continue to investigate 2 deadly hit-and-run crashes from last week

Anyone with information encouraged to call police
Dayton police Sgt. Gordon Cairns said the department is continuing to seek information on two deadly hit-and-run crashes in the city last week. STAFF / JIM NOELKER

Dayton police Sgt. Gordon Cairns said the department is continuing to seek information on two deadly hit-and-run crashes in the city last week. STAFF / JIM NOELKER

Police are continuing to seek information and investigate two fatal hit-and-run crashes in Dayton last week.

The most recent crash was late Friday night near Salem and Manhattan avenues.

“In this particular accident the passenger in the vehicle that struck the pole succumbed to her injuries and passed away,” said Sgt. Gordon Cairns, Dayton police Traffic Services Unit supervisor.

The victim’s identity has not been released.

Police have a person of interest in custody, but anyone with additional information should call Detective McDonald at 937-333-1141. People can also call the general police department line at 937-333-COPS (2677) or CrimeStoppers at 937-222-STOP (7867). Those calling CrimeStoppers can remain anonymous.

“We’ve had a lot of success with people actually calling about this particular incident and we just want to get any more information that we can,” Cairns said.

Police are also still seeking a person of interest in a deadly hit-skip crash that took place on April 27.

Officers would like to speak to Lonnie Harvson III, 60, in connection to the crash at Oakridge Drive and North Gettysburg Avenue, Cairns said.

Lonnie Harvson III. Photo courtesy Dayton Police Department

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A black Jeep Commander was traveling east on Oakridge Dive when it hit a Suzuki motorcycle heading north on North Gettysburg Avenue, according to a crash report.

The crash killed the motorcyclist, 37-year-old Franklin Jones of Dayton.

Anyone with information on Harvson’s location can called Dayton police at 937-333-COPS (2677) or CrimeStoppers at 937-222-STOP (7867). They can also contact Detective Timothy Rizer at 937-333-1142.

Cairns noted that the penalties for failing to stop at a crash are often much worse than the citation they’d initially face.

“If you do leave the scene now you have enhanced penalties and enhanced crime,” he said. “And those things can obviously increasingly get worse depending on the severity of the accident. So we do ask always, when you’re involved in an accident stop and exchange information. The penalties for not doing so are much worse than if you were at-fault and you’d get maybe a simple citation or whatever it may be.”

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