Medical emergency led to fatal Westerville crash, emergency C- section to save baby
A medical issue led to a fatal, two-vehicle crash Friday that killed a grandmother and injured four others, including a pregnant woman whose baby had to be delivered by emergency C-section, according to a traffic report released Tuesday afternoon by Westerville police.
Debra Harris, 66, the driver of one of the vehicles, died at Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital after the crash, which occured just after 2:10 p.m. Friday on North Cleveland Avenue just south of Polaris Parkway, about two miles east of Polaris Fashion Place and Interstate 71. Two of Harris' grandsons were passengers in her vehicle and among the four injured in the crash: 14-year-old Darius Harris and 6-year-old Brannon Russell.
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Harris was transported in critical condition to Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital, where she later died. Brannon and Darius were seriously injured and taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital. Darius suffered injuries to his head and right arm, while his younger brother, Brannon, sustained injuries to his right cheek, hip, and right foot, including some fractures, police said.
According to the Westerville police report released Tuesday afternoon, Harris had her two grandsons with her and was on her way to a doctor's office while driving a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox SUV north on North Cleveland Avenue when Darius Harris told police his grandmother said she was having an asthma attack and panic attack.
Debra Harris went to grab her inhaler when she dropped it, Darius, who was riding in the right front passenger seat, told police. Debra Harris told him to grab her inhaler while Darius was telling her repeatedly to pull over, he told police. While he was trying to get the inhaler, Darius told police the SUV seemed to speed up, went off the right side of the road and hit a sign and then crossed the centerline and crashed into a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander minivan traveling southbound on North Cleveland Avenue.
The minivan was being driven by Shesney Hughes, who was pregnant and had her 2-year-old son in the vehicle with her. Westerville firefighters had to extricate Hughes out of the vehicle, and they transported her to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. The report states that Hughes had to undergo an emergency C-section before she was taken to an emergency room to deal with bruising to her abdomen and fractures to her left arm and leg.
Her baby, Cairo, who was born six weeks prematurely, was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital in critical but stable condition.
A fundraiser is being conducted on GoFundMe for Shesney Hughes to help her and her children with expenses.
A terrible phone call
Brittney Harris, 38, of Worthington, was in disbelief when she received a phone call at work that her two sons and her mother had been in a serious car accident. But she could tell by Darius' voice that something was seriously wrong.
Brittney Harris told The Dispatch on Monday that she is still processing the crash and losing her mother, whom she described as her "best friend."
"It's just really hard to process. Anyone who knows me knows that my mother and I were close," said Harris. "I'm just running on autopilot."
Harris said that her two sons seem to be finding a routine as they recover from their injuries at Nationwide Children's Hospital. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family as they begin their recovery process.
smeighan@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Worthington mother reflects on losing mom in fatal Westerville crash
