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Standing room only at funeral for Agyasi J. Ector

Update, 5:15 a.m., Aug. 1: The funeral service of Agyasi J. Ector was held this afternoon at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton. The church, which seats about 400 people, was packed to capacity. As piano played in the background, mourners wept and embraced each others.

Ector, 27, of Trowood was killed July 24 when a car fleeing from Trotwood police during a high-speed pursuit struck him as he was walking to work.

We have a reporter at his funeral, and will bring you more details.

Previous coverage:

Aaron T. Johnson was the driver of the suspect car in the Trotwood police pursuit that ended in the July 24 death of pedestrian Agyasi J. Ector, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol report.

Ector's mother wasn't ready on Thursday to talk about Johnson. "I haven't been able to concentrate any energy on him right now," Susan Adegboruwa said. "Right now, it's all about my son."

Johnson, 21, was wanted by Trotwood police after Montgomery County Sheriff's officials said Johnson rammed two law enforcement vehicles when deputies and RANGE task force officials tried to apprehend Johnson in connection with a drug investigation.

A chase started in Harrison Twp. and resumed in Trotwood, as the car Johnson was driving reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour before it struck Ector and a utility pole and crashed into trees in a rock-walled ditch, police said.

Johnson has not been formally charged. However, he is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a probation violation of a drug offense. He was booked in on the evening of July 24, the same day as the chase. In his mug shot, Johnson is wearing a Miami Valley Hospital gown.

The OSHP report said Johnson and a passenger were taken the hospital for treatment after the crash and released. Police said one suspect suffered minor injuries while the other had a broken leg and lacerations. The newspaper is not naming the passenger because he is not currently in jail, nor has he been charged.

A 911 call released by law enforcement included a caller saying he saw something thrown out of the 2006 black Chevrolet Impala during the incident. Trotwood police reported that marijuana and two semi-automatic guns were found in the Impala, which is not owned by Johnson or his passenger.

A vigil for Ector, 27, was scheduled to be held Thursday evening in the parking lot of the former K-Mart next to the crash site on Shiloh Springs Road in Trotwood. His funeral is scheduled for today.

Ector was previously struck by a car and severely injured during his freshman year of high school, his mother said. Pins were inserted in his arms and screws in his leg and foot after being hit by the car as Ector was leaving Belmont High School. Adegboruwa said her son also had diabetes and always carried insulin with him.

"He had a lot of medical issues, but he never let any of those issues bother him," Adegboruwa said, adding that she recently looked at her son's Facebook page for the first time. "There were so many people that loved Agyasi. It brought me to tears looking at all the things that were on there."

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has withheld comment about the case, referring to Trotwood police. The sheriff's office has also declined to release any details, including photos of the damage, about the cruisers that Johnson reportedly rammed.

Trotwood police spokesman Capt. John Porter was out of the office Thursday and could not comment. Porter earlier said the dash-cam video of the crash would be withheld for multiple weeks.

Johnson's felony arrest record includes a 2013 charge of possession of less than five grams. On Feb. 21, 2014, he was granted intervention in lieu of conviction.

Johnson also pleaded guilty to 2013 misdemeanor charge of driving without a license in Dayton Municipal Court. A woman who answered the telephone at his house Thursday identified herself as Johnson's mother, did not want to comment.

"Friday will be the most difficult day of my life," Adegboruwa said of the funeral for her only son. "Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes."

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