Girlfriend of Ohio man shot dead by police in Walmart dies in car crash
Tasha Thomas, who was falsely accused of helping John Crawford III bring a gun into the store last August, was killed when she was ejected from a car in Dayton on New Year's Day, WHIO reported. The 26-year-old mother of three was with Crawford when he found the BB gun on a store shelf and was killed.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, January 2, 2015, 9:59 PM
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The police shooting death of an Ohio man after he picked up a BB gun inside a Walmart store last summer has taken yet another tragic twist.
John Crawford III's girlfriend, Tasha Thomas,who in a harsh interrogationwasfalsely accused of helping him smuggle the gun into the store in August, was killed in a bizarre high-speed car crash in Dayton on New Year's Day,WHIO reported.
The 26-year-old mother of three was reportedly ejected from a vehicle that was being driven by a friend at about 3 p.m.
The driver, Frederick Bailey, was also killed after they smacked straight into a pole while traveling between 90 and 110 mph.
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WHIO-TVThe 22-year-old man was on the phone with the mother of his children when he was shot dead by police who thought he was a gunman.
"He didn't try to maneuver away from the pole, it appeared he went directly toward the pole and hit the pole," Sgt. Creigee Coleman said of an eyewitness' account.
An autopsy on both victims Friday appeared to reveal nothing suspicious, with them both dying from multiple trauma and blunt force injuries.
Alcohol may have played a factor in the crash, authorities told WHIO.
The young mother was ripped into the public spotlight when a casual trip to a Beavercreek Walmart with Crawford on Aug. 5 ended in her boyfriend being shot dead after he was mistaken by police for a crazed gunman.
The 22-year-old man was on his cell phone with the mother of his children when he picked up the unpackaged BB gun which he found on a store shelf.
A customer who accused Crawford of pointing the firearm at other people inside the store later recanted that claim and a grand jury found the shooting justified in September.
Before the investigation's conclusion, however, Thomas was eyed by detectives as possibly supplying him with the firearm for a sinister deed.
In a filmed 90-minute interrogation, a detective accused the crying woman of lying to him and suggested that her bloodshot eyes were from doing drugs, as the Guardian reported.
At the end of the interview, the detective curtly revealed that her boyfriend was dead.
"They say it gets better one day at a time but. My heart is so heavy my mind is a puzzle all i can keep asking is y when how i need answers im missing u like carzy," Thomas posted on her Facebook page on Aug. 11.
