Family of Durham man stunned after fatal crash involving stolen car
The family and friends of the man killed in a Durham crash involving a stolen car say they were left in in shock by the news.
Jermaine Clement was just moments away from arriving at a dialysis appointment when the crash happened on Durham Chapel Hill Boulevard near Southwest Durham Drive on March 19.
Durham police say a stolen Kia ran a red light and hit the Toyota Highlander that Clement was a passenger in. He was taken to a hospital where he died.
Three people inside the stolen Kia were also taken to a hospital. One suffered life-threatening injuries and the other two were less severely injured, police said.
More seriously injured than he may have realized, Clement was able to call his mother from the scene.
She then called another son to let him know what happened.
“I pick up the phone and she tells me well, I just got off the phone with Jermaine,” said Clement’s brother, Steven Williams, “He let me know that he was in an accident. He’s a little banged up, but he’s all right.”
The phone call initially put Williams and his wife at ease. But a few hours later, Williams said, his wife started getting worrisome updates to her brother’s MyChart account.
They rushed to the hospital.
“That’s when we realized he was in grave ... he was in dire because he had already coded twice,” Williams said.
‘He’s always been a fighter’
On March 20, the day after the collision, fragments of car parts remained at the scene.
“Man, I’m still shocked, man, I’m just like, I’m blown away,” said Oral Chinfloo, a neighbor. “Good brother.”
Chinfloo has lived next door to Clement and his mother for more than 20 years.
“He’s always been a fighter. Somebody who has just like faced adversities and been able to come through on the other side like a champ,” Chinfloo said. “And strong faith. Strong will. He inspired me.”
Loved ones said Clement had health issues including diabetes that led to him becoming an amputee.
He retired after many years from being a driver with GoDurham Access, a transit service for riders with disabilities.
It was the same service Clement was using Wednesday morning to get to his dialysis appointment.
“Same company he used to work for. Yeah, yeah,” Williams reflected.
20-year-old charged with murder
On March 25 police charged 20-year-old Tyrone Shamode Evans, the Kia driver, with second degree murder, according to his arrest warrant.
He is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony hit and run serious injury/death, felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, and two misdemeanors: reckless driving and no operator’s license.
As of Wednesday morning he was being held without bail in the Durham County jail.
ABC11’s Akilah Davis contributed.
ABC11 is The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 11:01 AM.