When a man and his two friends carried out an armed carjacking, the trio refused to stop for the police, prompting a dangerous vehicle pursuit. However, after her son was killed in the deadly chase, a grieving mother now claims that her son “was not a criminal” all because of one alleged mistake the officer made.
When 20-year-old Dion Taylor, 16-year-old Taron Donta Kelly, and a third unnamed suspect armed themselves and carjacked a pizza delivery person in Baltimore, Maryland, the trio had no idea that this decision would be the last for one of them. After stealing the car, the culprits were spotted by police, prompting the trio to initiate what would quickly turn out to be a deadly pursuit.
When an individual chooses to flee from a pursuing officer, that person is also accepting the physical and legal consequences of resisting arrest. Unfortunately, these suspects don’t weigh the possible ramifications of their actions, which can easily lead to a devastating outcome in the blink of an eye.
Within minutes, the car slowed and two of the suspects exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Tragically, as Dion Taylor was fleeing from the police, he made an unexpected turn onto Highgate Drive, causing one of the officers to accidentally crash into him, killing 20-year-old Taylor instantly.
Although Taylor and his accomplices were confirmed to have been armed while performing the carjacking before leading police on the ultimately fatal chase, the deceased young man’s grieving mother insists that her son did nothing illegal all because of the pursuing officer’s singular action.
Teisha Cook, the mother of Dion Taylor, told WBAL-TV that, despite carrying out an armed carjacking and fleeing police, her son “was not a criminal” because one of the officers “crashed into him,” seemingly suggesting that her son’s death justifies his prior behavior and that the police purposefully mowed him down.
“He was not a criminal,” Cook said. “My son was a homebody…[The police] crashed into him and then ran him over.”
However, Baltimore County Police Corporal Shawn Vinson refuted Cook’s claim that her son was unjustly murdered, explaining that the officer involved in the fatal crash had no intention of hitting Taylor’s vehicle. He confirmed that an investigation shows that the officer in question accidentally collided with the fleeing suspect due to Taylor’s action.
“From what we can tell at this point, there’s nothing that shows that this officer intentionally struck the suspect,” Baltimore County police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said.
Still, Cook insists that her son was innocent of any wrongdoing, as if to suggest that he was purposefully mowed down by the pursuing officer.
“The whole time I’m trying to find my son not knowing that he was underneath the car, and I’m running around looking for him, and I couldn’t find them, and I’m calling in and I’m texting him and there was no response,” Cook said. “My son was running through the street up here, police came this way, and one came that way crashed into them and then ran him over.”
County police said that all the officers involved followed protocol and are presumed innocent of wrongdoing. However, Cpl. Vinson reiterated that they cannot release further details at this time because of the pending investigation. The officer involved in the crash has been placed on routine administrative leave.
Although the third suspect is still at large, police confirmed that 16-year-old Taron Donta Kelly has been charged as an adult with armed robbery, armed carjacking, theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm, and minor possession of a handgun, according to WBFF.
We can sympathize with this mother’s grief and anger over her son’s death, regardless of what he did or the type of lifestyle he led. It’s an unspeakable difficult thing to lose a child. However, this young man is responsible for the decisions that led to his untimely death, and no one else can be blamed. Hopefully, this woman finds closure in this tragic series of events.
