An 88-year-old man has been charged in connection to the hit-skip outside of a Parma Marc's that left a 2-year-old in critical condition, according to Parma Heights Police.
The case was presented to a grand jury on Tuesday, and George Balasko of Parma was charged with the following:
- Two counts of vehicular assault, felonies of the fourth degree
- Two counts of failure to stop after an accident, felonies of the fifth degree
- Two counts of failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident, felonies of the fifth degree.
On March 21, officers responded to the parking lot of Marc's, located on Ridgewood Drive, after a 32-year-old, Shalonte Maddox, and her toddler, Genesis Ojikutu, were struck by a vehicle while she was pushing him in a cart, Parma Police said.
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Genesis had a broken arm, a stitched-up forehead, a road rash on the back of his head, and swollen eyes because of the crash.
While police said the vehicle made no attempt to stop, Maddox recalled the driver stopping for a brief moment before traveling eastbound toward Ridge Road.
While the hit-skip occurred in Parma, Parma Heights Police handled the investigation so the other department could avoid a conflict of interest due to Balasko's familial connection with the Parma Police Department.
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"The Parma Heights Police Department wants to reiterate that the Parma Police Department has been completely transparent throughout the investigatory process since the investigation was turned over to our department out of an abundance of caution to avoid any conflict of interest," Parma Heights Police said in a statement.
