Deven Wheat Jr., 27, of Cleveland, died after a violent sequence of events on August 20, 2026, on the city’s east side. Wheat was driving a Lincoln Town Car northbound on East 55th Street near Cedar Avenue when witnesses said the Lincoln was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, struck another vehicle, then careened into a utility pole. The Lincoln was torn apart; Wheat and a 16-month-old child were ejected. Both were taken to a hospital; Wheat was pronounced dead and the child suffered serious injuries and remained hospitalized.

Medical personnel discovered Wheat had suffered a gunshot wound, and investigators found evidence of a bullet strike on the vehicle. Police said they believed Wheat had likely been shot before the collision and classified the case as a homicide, but the medical examiner had not immediately determined whether death resulted from the gunshot, the crash injuries, or both. Investigators had not publicly determined where the gunfire occurred, whether the child was struck by gunfire, who shot Wheat, or a possible motive.

Detectives were reconstructing Wheat’s movements before the wreck to separate the effects of the shooting from the collision and to find where the gunfire originated. If anyone was near East 55th Street and Cedar Avenue that evening or has information about Wheat’s movements before the crash, please come forward.