A Sunday morning drive in the Cedar-Overlook area of Cleveland Heights ended with a mangled car, a trip to the hospital and a stack of charges for a local man who police say tried to make his firearm quietly disappear before officers showed up.
According to police, the 36-year-old driver crashed his vehicle into another car, then asked the woman riding with him to move his gun into her car so officers “wouldn’t see it.” A handgun was later recovered near the scene. The driver was taken to a hospital, while the passenger was not injured.
Crash and arrest
Officers responded around 9:50 a.m. last Sunday to a two-car collision at Cedar Road and Overlook Road involving a 2025 Kia and a 2024 Land Rover, police said. When they got there, they reported finding an open container in the driver’s vehicle and described him as confused, with cuts on his nose and cheek and glassy, bloodshot eyes.
The passenger told officers she had been picked up earlier at her South Euclid home and that the man had been driving erratically before the crash. A handgun was found about 20 feet from the scene. Authorities charged the driver with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, having weapons under disability, using a weapon while intoxicated, OVI, reckless operation, failure to wear a seat belt and other counts, as reported by Cleveland.com.
What witnesses told police
According to the police report, the passenger told officers, "I have a gun in the car and I'm worried," and explained that the driver had asked her to stash his weapon in her vehicle so officers would not see it, Cleveland.com reported.
Police say the man at one point denied having a gun, despite the handgun being recovered near the crash site. The report also notes he was wanted on a separate Garfield Heights felony warrant for breaking and entering and menacing by stalking.
Charges and legal context
The charges reach across several Ohio weapons laws and the state’s impaired-driving statute. Improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, using weapons while intoxicated and having weapons under disability fall under the state’s weapons code in Chapter 2923 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The OVI count is filed under Section 4511.19 of the Ohio Revised Code, which allows for both civil and criminal penalties, including license suspension and possible jail time depending on prior convictions and the specific circumstances of the case.
What happens next
After the crash, the driver was transported to a nearby hospital, and the case is now headed for review by prosecutors, with court dates expected to follow. Anyone looking for official records or further details on the incident can check the police incident and accident reports available through the Cleveland Heights Police page.
Authorities have not publicly released the suspect’s name, and the investigation remains active.
