Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Murder Conviction of Driver in Cleveland LODD Crash
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a felony murder conviction for a driver who sped through a closed accident scene on I-90, striking and killing a Cleveland firefighter in 2022.
On Friday, the court announced its reversal of an appeals court ruling that reduced Leander Bissell’s conviction to involuntary manslaughter.
The case spawned from the November 19, 2022 killing of 51-year-old Johnny Tetrick.
That day, first responders blocked off a section of I-90 East near Martin Luther King Drive because of a vehicle rollover. Bissell drove around multiple parked police cars in an attempt to cut through.
Prosecutors say Bissell drove at 49 miles per hour and struck Tetrick, a father of three and a 27-year veteran of the Cleveland Fire Department, tossing him 100 feet. Bissell fled and was later arrested.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick sentenced Bissell, who is now days from his 44th birthday, to life in prison with parole eligibility after 16 years.
Then Bissell appealed. In November 2024, two of three judges on a panel of the Eighth District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, calling Bissell’s actions “a hallmark of reckless conduct” and saying there was no evidence that he deliberately drove his car at Tetrick.
The appeals court found Bissell guilty of involuntary manslaughter and assault on a firefighter, lowering his sentence to 11 years maximum.
Justice Patrick F. Fischer, writing for the Ohio Supreme Court, said the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office only had to show Bissell knew speeding in the area would likely seriously harm Tetrick.
“Instead of proceeding with caution, Bissell swerved in between lanes, onto the shoulder of the road, and around four parked police vehicles, which were blocking the left two lanes of travel,” Fischer wrote. “Considering the evidence in this case in the light most favorable to the State, sufficient evidence exists to establish that Bissell was aware his conduct would probably cause serious physical harm to a bystander or first responder like Tetrick for purposes of Bissell’s felony-murder conviction.”
Reached for comment on Friday, Bissell’s attorney, Timothy Sweeney, declined.
Sweeney has previously described this as a “recklessness case” with a tragic outcome. Sweeney has also described the scene as unsafe and chaotic, and said almost 30 other drivers drove around the police cars before Bissell did so.
Sweeney has argued that because those other drivers were able to pass through the scene without hitting anyone, Bissell had reason to think he could do the same.
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