After Willoughby chase, Mentor seeks to extend anti-speeding push beyond city borders

The driver hit about 95 mph in a 60 mph zone on State Route 2 before Willoughby police called off the chase for safety reasons. My'Sunn Williams, a 22-year-old Cleveland man, was sentenced earlier this month in Lake County Common Pleas Court to 12 months in prison and up to three years of post-release control for that flight — the same week Mentor Police announced its "Speeding Wrecks Lives" campaign with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Williams admitted he was driving a white Kia that fled a Willoughby traffic stop on May 11, 2026. Officers had tried to stop the Kia near Skiff and Vine streets for reports of a disturbance involving several people in a vehicle and a possible firearm; the driver sped off and cut off traffic before police ended the pursuit. U.S. Marshals arrested Williams in Cleveland on May 29 after detectives identified him as the driver, and investigators later found the Kia abandoned in Cleveland. Williams admitted driving it in an interview with police and pleaded guilty on July 23.

"Vehicle pursuits are among the most dangerous incidents officers face and can put innocent members of the public at serious risk," the Willoughby Police Department said.

The campaign behind the signs

The City of Mentor announced the "Speeding Wrecks Lives" campaign on September 8, a partnership between Mentor Police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During the campaign, officers issued citations for speed violations, and the department's messaging urged motorists to slow down and obey posted signs, ending with the warning that "speeding catches up with you." "Speed limits aren't a suggestion, they are the law," the Mentor Police Department said.

In announcing the campaign, Mentor Police said the department "will do its part by enforcing traffic laws and issuing citations for speed violations," framing enforcement as an ongoing obligation rather than a one-week event.

What outlasts the signs

In its 2025 annual report, the Mentor Police Department reported that traffic enforcement is a major patrol function aimed at reducing accidents, and that on-street accidents were down 10% in 2025.

The Williams case is itself a lesson in borders: a driver from Cleveland, stopped in Willoughby, reached about 95 mph on State Route 2 before the pursuit ended — a road that runs through eastern Lake County and past Mentor's own stretches. Williams's flight was one of five separate pursuits between July 2025 and May 2026 that ended in prison sentences for the fleeing drivers, with Lake County judges imposing terms ranging from 12 to 30 months plus up to three years of post-release control for felony failure to comply.