'You Could Have Killed Them': Crash with Kids Inside Reveals Ohio Police Officer’s Mission After Loss

Source Officer.com News

The chase was short, but it cut straight to the core of a Toledo police officer.

After a driver fled a Feb. 20 traffic stop, ran a red light and slammed into a pole and building, Officer Kaleb Torbert rushed in—only to find young children inside the wrecked vehicle, The Toledo Blade reports. Moments later, the incident, which was shown onOn Patrol: Live, would collide with a memory no officer ever wants triggered.

Torbert and his partner had attempted to stop the speeding vehicle shortly before the crash. The driver, identified as Kyle Reed, told officers he fled because he didn’t have a license. Torbert’s response—captured on dashboard and body cameras—came from a place deeper than professional frustration.

“You could have killed them,” he told Reed. “There’s a baby in there.”

Fortunately, the children in Reed’s car were not hurt. Had Reed stopped, Toldert told the Blade, “The car would have been released to a valid driver and that would have been it.”

While still at the crash scene, the officer added: “My son was killed in a crash.”

Torbert lost his 7‑year‑old son, Karson, in a 2022 Fulton County collision caused by a driver, authorities say, ran a stop sign. His wife survived, but Karson died days later, and the experience sits with him on every child‑involved call.

The man charged in Karson’s death was convicted and sentenced in 2024, but the 6th District Court of Appeals overturned the verdict the following year because two jurors had ties to the family. A retrial is pending, and he has been released during ongoing appeals.

Torbert says his personal loss has pushed him to serve with even greater purpose. 

“When it involves children, it’s hard for every officer who is deeply affected by it," he told The Blad. “In my case, I need to make sure that this child is taken care of, and if a crime has happened, that the person who committed the crime will go to court and face justice.”

Torbert joined the Toledo Police Department four days after Karson’s fatal crash after 15 years in law enforcement, including service as a sergeant in Wauseon. Policing runs in the family, and Torbert’s father, longtime Wauseon Police Chief Keith Torbet, said his son had "the calling" to pursue a law enforcement career.

Today, Torbert leans on that memory in his work. The Feb. 20 chase was another reminder of why he chose the profession—and why certain calls will always hit harder than others

“I do it for my son,” he said. “I want to make sure that no one has to deal with what I had to.