Fatal hit-skip crash under investigation

Madison Township police are asking anyone who may have witnessed a fatal hit-skip crash on June 7 to share any information to help with their investigation, according to a June 8 news release.

The release states that, shortly before midnight June 7, officers got a report that an elderly man was sitting in a lane of travel in the 7700 block of Middle Ridge Road.

One motorist reportedly swerved to avoid hitting the man, then turned around and went back to check on him.

“While that motorist was on scene, another vehicle approached and struck the male, causing incapacitating injuries,” the release reads. “Bystanders then maneuvered their vehicles around the victim in an effort to shield him from traffic.”

According to witnesses, the vehicle that hit the victim never stopped and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.

“The suspect vehicle fled eastbound on Middle Ridge Road toward Countyline Road,” the news release states. “No vehicle description was immediately available.”

The news release states that the man who was struck, later identified as 88-year-old Madison resident Stephen E. Balazs, was taken from the scene to Lake Health Madison Emergency Department. From there, police report he was taken by medical helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where he died from his injuries.

“According to family, he suffered from dementia and had left the house for an unknown reason without their knowledge,” the Madison Township Police Department news release reads.