Search fatalities

Chelsey Vollmer

Age : 22

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 05/27/2021

Location : State Route 202 and U.S. Highway 40

City : Huber Heights

County : Montgomery

State : Ohio

Agency : Bethel Township Police Department, Huber Heights Police Department

Officer(s) :Shane Marker; Sgt. John Marshall; Capt. Zachariah Mumford; Chief Shawn McKinney

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

.
REASON FOR CHASE: Troy Police Officer Shane Marker went to Imperial Court intending to arrest Jalen Alexander on outstanding Miami and Greene County warrants. Marker knew Alexander was associated with a red Jeep Cherokee parked there but could not see who was driving when the Jeep left. Marker followed the Jeep as it drove legally through the neighborhood and initiated a traffic stop for its darkly tinted windows. When the driver continued, Marker initiated a pursuit.
.
NARRATIVE:
On 03/30/2021, shortly before 8:00 a.m., Troy Police Officer Shane Marker located a red Jeep Cherokee associated with Jalen Alexander parked and running at an Imperial Court residence. Marker knew Alexander had outstanding warrants and that Troy police had previously arrested him following an alleged March 7 shooting. Marker could not see who was inside the Jeep because of its tinted windows. Rather than approach or block the parked vehicle, Marker positioned his cruiser out of sight nearby and waited for it to leave.
.
When the Jeep left, Marker followed it. The Jeep stopped at a stop sign and otherwise drove legally through the residential neighborhood. Marker could not identify the driver but believed Alexander might be driving. Marker activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop based on the Jeep's dark window tint. When the Jeep continued, Marker initiated a high-speed pursuit.
.
Marker pursued through 25-mph residential streets at speeds reaching approximately 50 to 65 mph before continuing south onto State Route 202. Sgt. John Marshall, Capt. Zachariah Mumford and Chief Shawn McKinney monitored the pursuit by radio as it developed.
.
On State Route 202, Marker continued the pursuit at speeds exceeding 100 mph. Marker’s cruiser video documented the police vehicle exceeding 100 mph, proceeding through red lights and occasionally crossing the center line while following the Jeep. Marker backed off at some intersections because of the danger of striking other motorists but continued the pursuit with his emergency lights and siren activated.
.
Traffic increased as the pursuit continued toward Huber Heights. Marker passed a school bus at approximately 102 mph. Chief McKinney instructed Marker to terminate the pursuit when he reached what McKinney called “Huber Heights traffic,” an area understood by the officers to be approximately 100 to 200 yards beyond the intersection of State Route 202 and U.S. Route 40. The pursuit therefore remained authorized through the intersection where Vollmer was subsequently killed.
.
Miami County sheriff’s deputies positioned stop sticks on State Route 202 near Ross Road. The Jeep struck the stop sticks, but police did not terminate the pursuit. Marker slowed temporarily while deputies removed the stop sticks and then accelerated again, reaching approximately 104 mph while continuing toward U.S. Route 40.
.
Chelsey Vollmer, 32, was driving to daycare with her 17-month-old daughter, Ezra, secured in a car seat. At State Route 202 and U.S. Route 40, the Jeep entered the intersection against a red light and struck the driver's side of Vollmer's vehicle at approximately 108 mph. Vollmer was killed. Her daughter survived and was extricated from the wreckage and transported to Dayton Children’s Hospital.
.
The Jeep's driver, Jalen Alexander, 19, also died. Passenger Tashaya Tipton survived with injuries. Troy police Sgt. John Marshall later testified that the police pursuit had never been terminated before the fatal impact.
.
Cruiser-camera video recorded the pursuit. Police records documented speeds reaching 120 mph and officers reporting at several points that they were backing off because of traffic, but Marker continued pursuing the Jeep.
.
CIVIL LITIGATION:
In 2023, Vollmer's estate sued the City of Troy, Officer Shane Marker, Sgt. John Marshall, Capt. Zachariah Mumford and Chief Shawn McKinney over the fatal pursuit. The lawsuit alleged that police continued an extremely dangerous pursuit for more than 11 miles at speeds exceeding 120 mph despite increasing traffic and opportunities to terminate it.
.
On 10/22/2025, the trial court denied the officers' request for summary judgment based on statutory immunity, finding that a jury could conclude Marker acted recklessly and that Marshall, Mumford and McKinney acted recklessly by monitoring the pursuit without stopping it. The court cited the weekday morning timing, speeds exceeding 100 mph, Marker passing a school bus at 102 mph, the nature of the offenses, available alternatives to a high-speed pursuit and the decision to allow the pursuit to continue through the intersection where Vollmer was killed.
.
On 07/02/2026, the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals reversed that ruling. The appellate court held that Marker, Marshall, Mumford and McKinney were entitled to statutory immunity and ordered the trial court to enter judgment in their favor. The appellate court concluded that the officers' conduct did not meet Ohio's legal threshold for wanton or reckless conduct.
.
TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES: 2 fatalities, 2 injuries

SOURCE LINKS :

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/mom-remembers-innocent-mom-killed-in-crash-during-police-pursuit-one-year-ago
https://dayton247now.com/news/local/mother-speaks-one-year-after-huber-heights-police-chase-killed-her-daughter
https://wdtn.com/news/local-news/huber-heights-police-chase-ends-in-fatal-crash/
https://www.whio.com/news/local/one-person-dead-after-police-chase-ends-crash/4KPM44RJGZG4TLAHPMQFOVJO2Q/
https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/1-killed-in-crash-that-ended-huber-heights-police-chase/MWWA4W4LXNCB7C3COWKX6XHPAE/
https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/crime/deadly-120-mph-police-chase-troy-man-suspected-of-shooting-at-girlfriends-father/62TETXDSTBA5PDRE7CT55ES2GQ/
https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/wrongful-death-suit-vs-city-of-troy-continues-3-years-after-police-chase-crash/G5EDH7VAEBEW5GDIUI4RB3YS2M/
https://law.justia.com/cases/ohio/second-district-court-of-appeals/2026/30686.html
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/2/2026/2026-Ohio-2526.pdf