Police chase leads to Wadsworth Township crash

WADSWORTH TWP. — Two people were sent to the hospital early Tuesday morning following a vehicle crash at the corner of Medina Line and Greenwich roads. Beverly Eppinger, 51, of Wadsworth, was transported to Cleveland Clinic Akron General after her 2018 Ford Escape was struck by a 2002 Nissan Murano driven by Fredrick Jessmer Jr., 20, of Akron. According to State Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Jones, Jessmer was traveling south on Medina Line Road and failed to yield for a stop sign when his vehicle collided with Eppinger's, which was eastbound on Greenwich Road. The four-vehicle crash took place around 6:40 a.m almost directly on the Medina-Summit county line. Jones said the initial crash technically took place in Medina County but that Jessmer's vehicle then collided with two cars parked at a dealership on the Summit County side. Eppinger was alone in her vehicle and her condition is not known at this time, Jones said. Jessmer was taken for treatment at Summa Health System's Barberton campus before being released into police custody. "A witness at the scene said they observed Mr. Jessmer running the stop sign at a high rate of speed," said Jones. "The witness apparently saw Mr. Jessmer come at him at a high speed and he stopped because it felt like to him the vehicle wasn't going to stop, and it didn't stop. He then had a view of the crash in his mirror, put the car in park and ran to check on both cars." The incident stemmed from a police chase that began around 6 a.m. in Akron when Jessmer was spotted by officers in a car believed to be stolen. Jessmer allegedly hijacked that vehicle just after 5 a.m. and is also one of three suspects in an Akron home invasion that occurred a half-hour before that, said Akron police Lt. Michael Miller. One suspect in the home invasion fired a gun after the trio stole multiple items including a television. Miller said the carjacking then occurred at a nearby gas station, with the victim claiming a gun was pointed at her. When police located the stolen vehicle roughly an hour later, Jessmer allegedly led them on a chase through Akron before heading toward Wadsworth Township. "The home invasion was the first domino and now we're in the process of trying to positively identify the two other suspects," Miller said. "We have an internal working theory on who they may be but there is still nothing official. Likely, those two other individuals were with (Jessmer) during the chain of events that involved the carjacking." Jones said Akron police had called off their pursuit before the crash occurred and that Jessmer was not being chased by any law enforcement agency at that time. Authorities say he fled the scene before being found by Norton police in a nearby ravine and arrested. He faces charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery with more pending. Jessmer was alone in the vehicle when the crash occurred, according to a Highway Patrol incident report. Wadsworth police, firefighters and EMS personnel assisted responders from Norton and state troopers at the scene. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.