Lorain police officer found at fault in Aug. 30 crash

LORAIN — An investigation into a crash involving a Lorain police officer found the officer to be at fault. Officer Nikki Kent reportedly struck a civilian's vehicle while responding to a service call around 10:15 p.m. Aug. 30. A review by traffic reconstructionist Lt. Kyle Gelenius found Kent failed to slow down when crossing an intersection, causing the crash. According to Gelenius' report, Kent was responding to a crash reportedly involving a child struck by a vehicle on Lorain's east side at about 10:15 p.m. Aug. 30. The call to 1313 Euclid Ave. said the child was not moving. The crash report for the child's injury said a 6-year-old girl and her siblings had run across the street when the girl was struck by a vehicle heading north on Euclid Avenue. She was taken to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center for treatment. The street light in the area was out, meaning the roadway was poorly lit at the time. That driver was not cited in that crash. While heading to the Euclid Avenue crash, Kent was driving the department's 2020 Dodge Charger, a marked cruiser with emergency lights and sirens activated, when she approached the intersection of East 21st Street and Elyria Avenue heading eastbound on East 21st Street. As Kent approached the intersection, a black 2013 Cadillac ATS was driving northbound on Elyria Avenue and a black 2014 Ford Fusion was heading southbound on Elyria Avenue. The Cadillac and Ford Fusion had green lights; Kent did not. According to Gelenius' report, the Cadillac stopped prior to turning onto Henderson Drive to allow Kent to go through the intersection. The Ford Fusion entered the intersection and Kent collided with it, spinning the Ford Fusion clockwise into the Cadillac. The Fusion came to a final stop after hitting the building at 2105 Elyria Ave. The Fusion had three passengers in it at the time of the crash: driver Olivia Price, 30, of Elyria; front passenger Andrew Jackson, 34, of Lorain, and rear passenger Christopher Jackson Jr., 2, of Elyria. The Cadillac had only the driver, Andre Calhoun, 37, of Lorain, in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Kent was alone in her patrol vehicle. Kent and the driver and front-seat passenger of the Ford Fusion were not wearing seat belts. The Ford's front passenger was reportedly thrown into the back seat of the vehicle during the crash. No one was seriously injured in the crash. Crash data was retrieved from all three vehicles, according to Gelenius' report. At five seconds before the crash, the Fusion was traveling at 30 mph with no braking, and did not brake until a half-second before the crash, when it slowed to 26 mph. Kent, at five seconds before the crash, was traveling at 64 mph and began to brake shortly thereafter. At a half-second before the crash, she had slowed to 33 mph. The Fusion had an obstructed view of the intersection, due to trees and a building at the northwest corner, according to the report. The driver told police she did not hear Kent's sirens or see the cruiser's emergency lights until she was in the intersection and subsequently struck by the police cruiser. Gelenius concluded Kent failed to slow down and adequately clear the intersection of cross traffic before she drove into it against the traffic light. Kent was charged with failure to slow an emergency vehicle at a stop signal, a misdemeanor, according to the crash report. Lorain Police Capt. Jacob Morris said the department will conduct an internal review to determine if Kent violated Lorain police policy during the incident. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 President Matthew Hartman declined to comment on the crash investigation. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.