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Background: The location where Megan Keleman, 25, was shot to death on Aug. 14, 2024 (YouTube/WEWS). Inset: Megan Keleman (city of Stow, Ohio).
The family of an Ohio woman who was shot to death by a stranger in a Taco Bell drive-thru line has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of the man who killed her before taking his own life.
On Aug. 14, 2024, Megan Keleman, 25, found herself trapped in the pickup line at a Taco Bell in Stow, a suburb of Akron, at around 7:30 p.m. after placing a mobile order. As she waited in her car — her dog, Penny, in the passenger seat beside her — Jason Williams, 53, rammed her from behind with his car, multiple times. Unable to move her car, as there was no bypass lane at the drive-thru, Keleman called her dad, Nicholas Keleman.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS, Williams was visibly angry, screaming and waving his arms. A Taco Bell employee heard Nicholas Keleman through the drive-thru intercom yelling for someone to call 911, which the employee did. Meanwhile, Williams had gotten out of his car and approached Megan Keleman while carrying a pistol. With two gunshots — and with the victim’s father still on the phone — Williams ended two lives: Megan Keleman’s and his own.
Authorities were never able to determine that the two knew each other, WEWS reported.
Two pieces of information soon emerged: first, the police “found an open bottle of liquor in the center console of Mr. Williams’ vehicle, as well as a cup with a clear liquid in it,” the lawsuit says.
Second, according to the complaint, at least one person was aware that Williams was dangerous.
“Mr. Williams’ psychiatrist later reported that she had seen him that day, and was not surprised that he had committed suicide,” the lawsuit says.
According to the plaintiffs, Williams had a long history of troublesome offenses, but he was repeatedly able to avoid meaningful accountability and custody.
“Every sign and indication in Mr. Williams’ life, in the months and years leading up to this tragedy, was that he was on a dangerous downward spiral,” the lawsuit says. “This included suicidal threats and multiple criminal charges involving weapons and alcohol.”
The complaint outlines Williams’ criminal past, which included “a long history of alcohol- and gun-related offenses.” As far back as 1994, Williams was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony that would have barred him from possessing weapons had he been convicted, but he ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that allowed him to continue owning guns. The cycle repeated in 2023, when he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but ultimately pleaded to a significantly reduced charge, the lawsuit says.
“There would be several more charges before his death,” the complain notes. Keleman’s family says that had Williams been properly monitored, their loved one would likely still be alive.
In August 2024, Williams was not only out on bond on a felony charge of improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, the lawsuit says, he had also failed to obtain a court-ordered ankle bracelet that monitors the presence of alcohol in a person’s sweat, called a SCRAM device.
“At the time of his death, Mr. Williams was prescribed nine different medications, including two antidepressants, a medication used to treat addiction, and a seizure medication,” the lawsuit noted. “Nonetheless, he remained in possession of firearms and out on bond.”
The lawsuit also described a January 2024 encounter with police after Williams called an alcohol abuse and treatment center and said he wanted to “blow [his] brains out.” Police responded to Williams’ home, and Williams reportedly drank “copious amounts of wine directly from the bottle, in their presence, during an active suicidal crisis,” and also “described a specific plan he had for killing himself with two guns.”
However, instead of taking Williams into custody, the police officers “permitted Mr. Williams to promise he would go to a ‘resort-type place’ outpatient facility in Indiana after they left,” the complaint says. Police allegedly never followed up on this promise.
The defendants are the administrators of Williams’ estate, in addition to as-yet-unnamed “individuals and entities whose negligence, recklessness, willfulness, and wantonness contributed to and/or caused the death of Megan Keleman.”
“Defendants’ actions demonstrated a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of Megan Keleman and the rest of the public, acting with reckless indifference to the consequences to others despite being aware of their conduct and knowing there was a great probability of causing substantial harm,” the lawsuit also says.
The complaint was filed by attorney Rebecca Sremack on behalf of Megan Keleman’s parents, Nicholas and Kelly Keleman. It seeks a jury trial, compensatory damages and punitive damages. Sremack told WEWS that the lawsuit is meant to highlight the need for changes to gun laws and police responses to suicide crises, and to require “safety exit lanes” at drive-thru establishments.
“There are multiple ways to seek change, I think a lawsuit is one of them,” Sremack said told the station.
A representative for Williams’ estate commented on the procedural nature of their role.
“This is a tragedy for everyone involved, and my role as the administrator of the estate is to comply with all the procedural and statutory requirements,” said attorney T. Nadas, according to WEWS.
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