Lotus Legaci Love Jones, the Cleveland toddler left paralyzed after a 2023 police chase crash, has died, her family has announced. According to a remembrance post, she stopped breathing on Saturday and suffered irreversible brain damage before her death at age 3. For more than three years, Lotus needed round-the-clock care and frequent hospital stays while undergoing therapy and breathing treatments.
The announcement appeared Wednesday on the Facebook-based Cleveland, Ohio Remembrance Page, which also asks for help covering memorial expenses and unpaid medical bills. The post links to a fundraiser, and GoFundMe is hosting a campaign the family says is meant to cover funeral costs and lingering healthcare expenses. The Facebook message uses the hashtag #clevelandremembrancepage and includes photos shared by relatives.
Crash Left Her Paralyzed During Police Chase
As reported by WOIO/Cleveland 19, the crash happened on Feb. 22, 2023, when authorities say a driver fleeing East Cleveland police ran a red light and slammed into the vehicle carrying Lotus and her mother. The impact fractured Lotus’ neck and separated it from her spinal cord, leaving her unable to walk or talk and dependent on medical equipment and continuous care. The driver, identified in court records as Daryl Brown, later pleaded guilty and received an eight-year prison sentence.
A Years-long Fight for Care and Stability
“I don’t know how I find the strength every day,” Lotus’ mother, Lexis Crowell, told WOIO/Cleveland 19 in a 2024 interview reflecting on the year after the crash. Crowell described constant setbacks as Lotus lived with a tracheostomy connected to a ventilator, a G-tube for feeding and other medical interventions, alongside years of therapy and frequent hospital stays…