She apparently lost control of the car, which jumped the curb, ran over a traffic sign and hit the tree. It then bounced backward before it caught fire according to police.
Sgt. Larry Warren said Gustin’s car appeared to have been in an another crash in that parking lot on East Dorothy Lane prior to the crash on East Stroop Road.
Police are now leaning on social media and the public to generate more information regarding the incident.
“We are actively attempting to find any further witnesses/home surveillance cameras, or any other information that would be pertinent to the fatal crash on E. Stroop Rd. on 6/23/19,” the Kettering Police Dept. stated on its Facebook page.
Police want residents with any information to call dispatch at 937-296-2555 and ask for officer Jesika Shriver-Kelch or officer John Youngs.
The stretch of East Stroop Road where Gustin crashed is 35 mph, and police believe she was going much faster than that. The question is why, which they are still trying to investigate, and haven’t ruled out mechanical problems or a medical emergency.
“It was such a chaotic scene. It was hard to tell what was going on,” said resident Laura Faircloth, who could not get to her home while police investigated.
She spotted one car near the tree, and two more crumpled cars on the roadway after their drivers apparently tried to get out of Gustin’s way as she bounced off the roadway.
“At first I thought, is it a three-car crash, they pushed her through, you could tell it was intense because of the condition of the car,” she said.
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