Kettering police ask for help as they investigate fatal Stroop Road crash

KETTERING — A 50-year-old Centerville woman was killed Sunday on East Stroop Road after her car hit a tree and then caught fire.

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Kettering police hope social media brings in new information on the crash, which prompted a flood of 911 calls as Rebecca Gustin’s vehicle went up in flames right after she was pulled from it.

Police cruiser camera video showed a tire exploding on the SUV as officers arrived.

Several days after the fatal crash, the marks can still be seen on the tree and burn marks where the vehicle caught fire.

Also remaining are questions that police and the people who live nearby are trying to piece together.

“It was such a chaotic scene. It was hard to tell what was going on,” said resident Laura Faircloth, who could not get to her home while police investigated.

She spotted one car near the tree, and two more crumpled cars on the roadway after their drivers apparently tried to get out of Gustin’s way as she bounced off the roadway.

“At first I thought, is it a three-car crash, they pushed her through, you could tell it was intense because of the condition of the car,” she said.

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People ran to help. John Thalman was among those who pulled Gustin out of her vehicle before it erupted in flames.

“I just walked up and helped carry her down to the grass because we knew the car was going to explode, it was on fire,” he said.

Gustin was breathing but not conscious. She died at a local hospital.

Investigators said they think Gustin may have been involved in another crash before her car hit the tree in a parking lot nearby on East Dorothy Lane.

The stretch of East Stroop Road where Gustin crashed is 35 mph, and police believe she was going much faster than that. The question is why, which they are still trying to investigate, and haven’t ruled out mechanical problems or a medical emergency.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or who has home surveillance video of the crash or the moments leading up to it is urged to call dispatch and ask for Kettering police officers Jesika Shriver-Kelch or John Youngs at 937-296-2555.