Deborah Pearl, a 53-year-old African American woman from Twinsburg, Ohio, died on August 27, 2016, in Solon, Ohio after a traffic collision and a subsequent shooting. According to reports, the crash was caused when 29-year-old Matthew Desha ran a red light and struck Pearl’s car. After exiting his vehicle Desha reportedly fired an assault rifle; witnesses said he first appeared to shoot randomly and then aimed at Pearl while she had her hands raised in surrender. Paramedics found Pearl severely wounded; she was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Desha was arrested near the scene and charged with murder. Accounts in the case note that he was a former Marine who had served two tours in Iraq and struggled with PTSD and drug addiction, which family and acquaintances mentioned as factors. Pearl’s family described her as a woman of great faith and a loving mother of three adult children; her community and church mourned her loss.

What details about the moments before the crash or the scene that day might help explain how the incident escalated so quickly?