MARTINSBURG – The mother of a Berkeley County woman has sued several members of law enforcement and others after her daughter committed suicide by jumping from a bridge onto Interstate 81.
Sharon Davis, individually and as administratrix of the estate of Ashannae Jarrett, filed her original complaint September 13 and an amended complaint September 17 in Berkeley Circuit Court against the Berkeley County Commission, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Nathan Harmon, deputy Jerry Jones, deputy Brooke Hott, deputy J’Von Dorsey and Achraf Belabied, who was the driver of the vehicle that struck Jarrett on September 18, 2022. The complaint also lists a yet unknown person who drove a tractor trailer that struck Jarrett and a yet unknown business that owned that tractor trailer as defendants.
According to the amended complaint, Jarrett was 23 years old when she died September 18, 2022. It says she had a history of mental illness of which the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office was “acutely aware.”
On September 14, 2021, Jarrett’s sister called 911 to report her sister was threatening suicide. That incident was diffused. On April 11, 2022, Davis called 911 to report Jarrett was suicidal. And 16 days before her death, Jarrett was admitted to Berkeley Medical Center’s psychiatric unit with suicidal ideation.
On the day of Jarrett’s death, Davis called 911 after Jarrett told her she was “not gonna be here tomorrow.” She said Jarrett planned to jump to her death from an overpass bridge at Rock Cliff Road on Interstate 81.
Dorsey was dispatched and met with Davis at a gas station. While there, Davis says she received a phone call from Jarrett’s sister, who said she had received a text message from Jarrett essentially saying “this life is not worth living.”
“Hug the boys for me sis,” Jarrett texted her sister at 9:44 p.m. “I wish u da best but this life stuff was never for me fr (for real). so just look after mama for me and keep her close.”
Davis says Dorsey didn’t ask to see the text message and didn’t convey the content of the message to Jones, Hott or to Emergency Medical Services personnel.
Dorsey located Jarrett on Rock Cliff Road, where Davis had told him she would be, at 10:12 p.m., according to the complaint. Hott and Deputy J. Baldridge also were present. Body cam footage shows Jarrett in tears and despondent. When asked why she wanted to commit suicide, she says, “I don’t know.”
Dorsey messaged to send EMS and emphasized Jarrett was not suicidal, according to the complaint. Meanwhile, Hott continued to talk to Jarrett, who said the medication she had been given worked but had stopped taking it “because of a possible sexual assault.” Hott asked Jarrett about her future plans, and Jarrett replied, “If I said, I’d probably end up in the hospital.”
The complaint says Hott didn’t convey this conversation to other officers, superiors or EMS personnel, saying Hott falsely advised EMS that Jarrett had not reported that she intended to harm herself.
Jones and Dorsey then called Davis to tell her they had located Jarrett and to get mental hygiene paperwork ready to have Jarrett involuntarily committed.
“Plaintiff immediately expressed fear that Ms. Jarrett would complete her suicide plan before plaintiff was able to intervene, prompting Lt. Jones to recommend that another family member ‘follow her around’ to ensure that Ms. Jarrett did not do anything to harm herself,” the complaint states. “Defendants Dorsey, Hold and Deputy Baldridge then left Ms. Jarrett alone on Rock Cliff Road and did not wait for her mother to arrive to get her.”
At about 11:09 p.m., about 34 minutes after the officers left Jarrett, an Animal Control officer contacted 911 to report a female on the Rock Cliff overpass. Dispatch sent sheriff’s personnel to the scene, according to the complaint. But multiple sheriff’s officers and West Virginia State Police officers say they were sent to the wrong location.
Davis says she rushed to the overpass from the hospital where she had been trying to secure the mental hygiene paperwork. As she arrived at 11:15 p.m., she says she saw her daughter jump from the overpass onto I-81 at a location about a quarter mile from where the officers had last interacted with Jarrett.
When Jarrett landed on I-81, a tractor trailer hit her. The driver did not stop. Then, Belabied hit her with his 2012 Mercedes.
Jarrett’s death certificate lists the cause of death as “generalized, severe blunt impact injuries.”
Davis accuses the various law enforcement defendants of reckless conduct, negligence, negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent supervision, negligent and/or reckless infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, malicious and/or wanton conduct, vicarious liability and violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act. She accuses Belabied, the unknown tractor trailer driver and the unknown tractor trailer company of negligence and the company of vicarious liability.
Davis says she and Jarrett suffered damages, including pain and suffering, mental anguish, psychological injuries, medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost income and earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, conscious pain and suffering and other damages.
She seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, general damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Davis is being represented by W. Jesse Forbes and Jennifer N. Taylor of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston and by L. Dante diTrapano and Amanda Davis of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston.
Berkeley Circuit Court case number 24-C-438