CLEVELAND — The 48-year-old woman whose vehicle was struck by a car being chased by Cuyahoga County Sheriff's deputies has died.
Tamya Westmoreland was driving a Range Rover on March 28 when she was struck by 24-year-old Nigel Wayne Perry, causing her SUV to go over the traffic bridge at the Eddy Road exit in a ball of flames as she was thrown from her vehicle.
Westmoreland, who had nothing to do with the chase, died on April 13, News 5 Investigators have learned.
Perry died in the crash.
“It’s difficult you get into this to serve the public, not bury the public, and you try to put yourself in their shoes, and you can’t, you just can’t,” County Councilmember Mike Gallagher said.
Gallagher says in his 26 years of public life, he’s never dealt with anything like this.
News 5 asked Gallagher if he thought the safety patrol should go away.
“I’ve been on record from the moment I found out about it back a couple of years now," he said.
“That it should be disbanded?” Investigator Tara Morgan asked.
“It’s never made sense to me,” Gallagher said.
Council member Sunny Simon told News 5: “This Deputy Safety Patrol needs to be disbanded immediately to review its purpose and policy so they don’t have to be in a position today with another tragedy.”
What happened?
Cuyahoga County released video from the deadly chase and crash at Eddy Road and I-90. Deputies were chasing a car that slammed into another car, sending it flying over a traffic bridge. Footage from ODOT cameras shows a big explosion from the impact.
Perry died after slamming a Dodge Neon he was driving into the back of a Range Rover. Perry was trapped in the mangled metal at the Eddy Road exit from I-90.
The Range Rover that Perry hit flew over the traffic bridge in a ball of flames. Westmoreland was thrown from the Range Rover, which is a 40-foot drop.
Deputies chased Perry from East 9th in Downtown Cleveland. Records show Perry ran from a traffic stop with the initial pull-over for a window tint violation and concern over an expired plate.
Accountability
In the immediate aftermath, Cuyahoga County councilman Gallagher said he wanted the sheriff to explain what happened.
RELATED: Cuyahoga County councilman wants sheriff's department to answer for chase that ended in deadly crash
Deputies are known to patrol Downtown Cleveland streets and have been doing so since August 2023. The Downtown Safety Patrol has been contentious for Cuyahoga County council members.
“I don’t want to see somebody on the ground that we’re going to have to pay for,” said Public Safety Committee Chair Mike Gallagher in January.
The sheriff was supposed to appear before the County Safety Committee today, but he is attending a deputy’s funeral. The safety chair expects to have the sheriff back in two weeks.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department Detective Bureau is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Bratenahl Police Department, the EDGE Accident Investigation Unit and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
