A 53-year-old Black woman was hit by a car and then shot to death by the driver in Twinsburg, Ohio.
Early Saturday morning, Deborah Pearl was on her way to work at the local Harvey Davidson store when a Jeep ran a red light, crashing into her sedan. Pearl’s car was pushed a few lanes over, while the Jeep flipped onto its roof 50 feet away.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the Jeep got out of his car with a rifle in hand. According to several neighbors, Pearl was then shot several times in the middle of the intersection.
“I can’t get her screams out of my head,” an anonymous witness told Cleveland.com.
Pearl was rushed to University Hospital’s Bedford Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
WANT MORE FROM ESSENCE? Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.
Police have identified the shooter as 29-year-old Matthew Ryan Desha, the Twinsburg Bulletin reports. The man was arrested and charged with one count of murder. He made his first appearance in court on Monday via video and was set on a $1 million dollar cash bond.
The motive for the shooting is still unclear to authorities who say they have no reason to believe the two even knew each other.
A number of 911 calls describe a man “walking around with an AK-47 shooting all over the place,” one caller said.
The police department has since released the calls to the public.
Pearl leaves behind three adult children. Her son, Derryo Pearl remembers his mom as a hard worker.
“She made us go to school every day,” Derryo Pearl said. “She worked hard and taught us that was the only way to succeed in life.”