Youngstown Police have determined that a 66-year-old driver failed to yield the right-of-way before pulling out of a parking lot and into the path of an oncoming car, causing a July crash that killed 16-year-old E'Lexus Conner and critically injured her older sister. The finding, detailed in a police report released in October, closes the loop on a case that began with a devastating overnight collision on the city's South Side three months earlier.
What the Police Report Found
According to WFMJ, the crash happened just after 2:30 a.m. when James Ferguson, driving a 2013 Dodge Avenger, pulled out of a parking lot onto Market Street and entered the path of an oncoming Hyundai Elantra driven by 18-year-old Lynell Stanley Jr. The impact sent Stanley's car overturning, throwing both E'Lexus Conner and her 18-year-old sister En'Dia Conner from the vehicle. The 15-year-old passenger was in the front passenger seat, while E'Lexus and En'Dia were riding in the back seat. E'Lexus died in the crash, while En'Dia was severely injured and admitted to intensive care. The station's report notes that two other teens in the car and Ferguson himself suffered only minor injuries, and that blood tests indicated drugs or alcohol did not play a part in the crash. As of the report's October 13 publication, no charges had been filed in Youngstown Municipal Court or Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The crash occurred on July 12, 2026, at the intersection of Market Street and East Myrtle Avenue, near the Southside Community Garden, as reported by The Vindicator. An Instagram post by lstpromos said a 21 News photographer responded around 3 a.m. early Sunday, July 12, and described one car split in two
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Remembering E'Lexus Conner
E'Lexus Conner was a junior at Chaney High School enrolled in the Public Safety Academy at Choffin Career & Technical Center, where she had aspired to attend Youngstown State University and become a crime scene investigator, per the same Vindicator account. Her sister En'Dia had graduated from Chaney High School and Choffin Career & Technical Center just two months earlier, in May 2026, and was enrolled at Youngstown State University with plans to study journalism.
In September, staff and students at Choffin Career & Technical Center dedicated a memorial wind chime outside the school's main entrance in E'Lexus's memory, part of the school's B Strong grief initiative, the Vindicator reported. The Youngstown City School District Board of Education also observed a moment of silence for her during a July meeting held alongside broader administrative business.
The Legal Question Still Unresolved
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.44, failing to yield the right-of-way when entering a public highway from a private drive or parking lot is classified as a minor misdemeanor punishable by fines, with penalties escalating for repeat traffic offenders within one year, according to the Ohio Revised Code. Whether Ferguson will actually face charges in municipal or common pleas court remains an open question, as none had been filed when the police report became public.
Market Street has seen fatal crashes before. In June 2026, a 46-year-old driver died near Pyatt Street and Falls Avenue after his car overturned, the Vindicator reported at the time. Statewide, provisional Ohio State Highway Patrol data through October shows troopers investigated 38,399 crashes with year-to-date fatalities matching the same period in 2025, even as distracted driving citations climbed to 42,513 statewide compared to 34,132 during the equivalent stretch last year, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The Conner family's loss comes amid a difficult stretch for Mahoning County teens and families. Hoodline reported on a Cardinal Mooney student's death from an ATV crash in September.
