An Ohio mother was fatally shot by a motorist on Aug. 27 after their cars collided on a busy intersection, according to local reports.
Deborah Pearl was killed by Matthew Desha, who shot her with a 5.56-millimeter rifle, police said.
“Word’s [sic] can’t explain what we’re going through,” said Pearl’s son, Derryo Pearl. “This is the roughest patch a human being can go through. I’ve gone through tough times before, but it wasn’t like this.”
Cleveland.com reported that Pearl was driving north on Richmond Road about 7:20 a.m. on Saturday towards South East Harley-Davidson, where she worked.
Desha ran his Jeep through a red light and crashed into Pearl’s Ford Taurus. The impact of the crash caused the Jeep to roll over several times before ending up on its roof, after which Desha emerged from his vehicle with a rifle.
Witnesses told Cleveland.com that Pearl had exited her vehicle with her hands in the air before Desha shot her several times.
“I can’t get her screams out of my head,” a woman said.
Another witness who arrived on the scene described Desha’s behavior following the accident.
“He wasn’t saying anything,” he said. “When I made contact with him he was shaking. I don’t know what was going through his mind.”
Deborah was transported to University Hospitals Bedford Medical Center, where she died, according to police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
In 2007, an alleged drunk Desha was also accused of fleeing the scene of a car accident in North Carolina, reported WEWS-TV.
Desha was arrested at the scene and has since been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Pearl and he is being held on $1 million bail.
His next court appearance is set for today.
