After the tragic weekend on the streets of Miami Valley, police officials urge caution

DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) – A deadly weekend on the roads of Miami Valley with three fatal crashes within 48 hours.

Dayton 24/7 Now's Lydia Bice spoke with Dayton Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office about what led to these tragedies.

This weekend, three fatal car accidents occurred in the Miami Valley, each with different causes but all leading to the same tragic outcome.

The first incident occurred on Saturday, August 24, in Riverside, where a man was killed on the Old Troy Pike.

The other cases occurred on Sunday and were handled by the Dayton Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

The second fatal, tragic accident of the weekend occurred on Sunday, August 25, near Frederick Pike and Rivers Edge Blvd in Dayton.

“In this particular case, the vehicle veered off the road to the right and entered a grassy area. As it was re-entering the roadway, it overcorrected and then turned left, colliding head-on with the other vehicle,” said Sergeant Gordon Cairns, head of the Dayton Police Department's Traffic Services Unit.

The vehicle the suspect rammed was driven by Brittany Shanks, who died at the scene of the accident.

Her child and two other related children were in the car with her.

“The three children were rescued, all three children were taken to Children's Medical Center and the driver of the other vehicle was taken to Miami Valley Hospital,” said Sergeant Cairns.

Sgt. Cairns warns against overcorrections.

“I just wanted to talk about these overcorrection issues and some of the most common reasons are the ones I mentioned: tire blowouts, wet roads, icy roads in the winter and then your car either comes left or right,” Sergeant Cairns said. “We just want to tell people that when that happens, don't immediately pull back on the road in a quick, brisk manner.”

Also on Sunday, a fatal accident occurred in Jefferson Township, which was handled by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

A Mercedes Benz was traveling north on Route 4 when it veered left off center and collided with a Cadillac. The driver of the Cadillac attempted to swerve but was struck and killed.

“This is a nurse who worked in Grandview. She had just finished a long shift helping people and was on her way home when she was hit by a car,” said Major Jeremy Roy of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

After a weekend of tragedies on the streets, authorities are urging everyone to be extra cautious, especially now that the new school year has begun.

“Unfortunately, many of our good drivers have to drive more defensively today. They have to look around when the light turns green. I still wait a second or two before I drive off because people run red lights because they're not paying attention,” said Major Roy.

Shanks, the woman killed in Sunday's car crash on Frederick Pike, is a relative of 5-year-old Charles Brown, who died of an overdose in his grandmother's apartment, a story we covered extensively at Dayton 24/7 Now.

Investigators Bice spoke to Wednesday say everyone should remember that distracted driving or other bad habits can change a family forever.