Franklin commissioner addresses July traffic crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Franklin County commissioner has taken some heat after a crash she was involved in on July 2 this year.

Franklin County Commissioner Erica Crawley was driving her white Mercedes SUV in Downtown Columbus when she crashed into a woman driving a red sedan.

Body camera footage from Columbus Police showed the aftermath of the crash, including several witnesses who saw what happened. 

In that footage, Crawley tells police she was driving south on N. 3rd Street after she just exited the highway. The other woman involved was driving west on Spring Street when both cars collided.

Crawley thanked the first responders who helped at the scene.

“I was in a motor vehicle accident on July 2,” she said. “I'm a human being, having had having a human experience just like everyone else. And I am grateful for the Columbus Police Department who came by and showed up on the scene and the EMTs, who came and made sure that everyone was safe and healthy."

During the police body camera footage, about 25 minutes, viewers can see the officers talking to both drivers and several witnesses. Both drivers claim the other was at fault for running a red light. Both drivers were asked if they needed medical attention, and both declined.

Another person on scene has drawn further criticism online. Columbus City Council member Nicholas Bankston can be seen in the body camera footage already stopped next to Crawley's vehicle when police arrive.

"I didn't call Councilmember Bankston at all,” Crawley said. “Councilmember Bankston drove by and saw the accident and saw me standing there and stopped, just like I would hope any bystander would to check on a colleague, a friend, or even just somebody that you don't know. I've done that for other people, and he did that for me, but I absolutely did not make a phone call to Councilmember Bankston.”

Police did not issue a citation to either driver, and a crash report was not filed. An officer states during the body camera footage that "since there's no injuries and the cars are off to the side of the road, there's not going to take a crash report out of this. It will just be an insurance report.”