She has been charged with stealing the Jeep. Investigators are reviewing additional charges related to the high-speed chase and death of Mary Taulbee, whose car collided with a Moraine police cruiser trying to stop Irwin-Debraux.
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Asked to comment on the validity of the reported claim by Irwin-Debraux, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office Spokesman Greg Flannagan responded, “The information you have is considerably different than the information that we have.”
When asked to elaborate, Flannagan added in an email, “The evidence will come out when this case proceeds to trial.”
Irwin-Debraux, 18, was indicted on grand theft last week and remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond, jail records show.
The owner of the Jeep reported it stolen from Harrison Twp. just after 6 p.m. that night and said she was tracking it on GPS when it entered Moraine, records show.
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Before the theft, the owner’s fiancee said he left keys in the Jeep as he exited it to talk to a co-worker. About 15 minutes later, the fiancée said, the vehicle was gone.
Information about the stolen vehicle was relayed to Moraine police and, minutes later, Officer Matt Barrie said he spotted a vehicle matching the Jeep’s description.
Records show Barrie sought to perform a traffic stop on Ohio 741 in Moraine and the Jeep fled. Barrie received permission to pursue, recording speeds up to 80 miles per hour southbound into Miami Twp., according to police documents.
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As the Jeep and the police cruiser approached Carnation Road, a Hyundai driven by Taulbee, 57, and a Chrysler driven by Brandon Miller, 32, of Centerville, were both heading north on Ohio 741, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The Chrysler swerved to avoid the Jeep and struck the Hyundai. Taulbee’s car then “spun out of control, crossed the center line and into the path” of the Moraine patrol car, according to the state report.
Taulbee – a Realtor in Dayton, Englewood, Lebanon, Miamisburg, Springboro and Washington Twp. – was pronounced dead at Kettering Hospital.
The Jeep later overturned near the Dayton Mall as it sought to flee Miami Twp. police, officials said. A witness told police Irwin-Debraux crawled from the Jeep. She later was taken into custody.
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