*This article contains a graphic image of one of the victims*
An 88-year-old man is under investigation as the alleged driver who hit a mom and her toddler in a Marc's grocery store parking lot Friday night.
RELATED: 'You hit my son and left him there': 2-year-old boy, mother injured in alleged hit-skip
Around 7 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to the parking lot of Marc's, located on Ridgewood Drive, after 32-year-old Shalonte Maddox and her 2-year-old son, Genesis, were struck by a vehicle while she was pushing him in a cart, Parma Police said.
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.
"When the car stopped and then decided to keep going, my baby came from up under the car. He rolled from up under the car," she told me on Sunday.
Maddox added that several people witnessed the incident and not only ran to her aid but also tried flagging the driver, who allegedly plowed through the pair to stop.
"Just have some remorse. That’s my biggest thing. He’s two. He’s two years old. I understand you hit me, but you hurt my baby," Maddox previously told me.
Maddox said Genesis now has a banged-up arm, a stitched-up forehead, road rash on the back of his head, and swollen eyes. Maddox said her body is sore, and she has some bruising.
Until Tuesday afternoon, Parma Police hadn't released any further information about the crime.
The car is a dark blue 2022 Toyota Corolla, and it is suspected that the car was being driven by an 88-year-old Parma man at the time. The vehicle has been secured for processing and evidence collection.
Parma Police confirm a search warrant was granted Monday for the vehicle.
While the driver has been possibly identified, that individual has not been taken into custody as of Wednesday morning, as the case is still under investigation. That person's name has not been released, but Parma Police told News 5 they have an idea of who it may be.
"Due to the man’s family connection to a civilian employee of the Parma Police Department, the investigation has been turned over to the Parma Heights Police Department to prevent a conflict of interest. Parma Heights Police will take over the investigation and pursue applicable criminal charges," the Parma Police Department shared.
Maddox said she does not understand how law enforcement can find the suspect who severely hurt her child and not charge him at this time.
"Even at 88, it's like, ugh," Maddox said. "The first thing on my mind is how are you? Did you go straight to the police station? Did you wait until yesterday? When you stopped for that brief second, what were you thinking? What made you decide to leave out the parking lot? Who would lock up an 88-year-old person? I just gotta be realistic. But I just know if it was someone else, they would have been, so why not? It [doesn't] make me angry. It's just why not? Is it because you have connections or? Because anyone else would have been in jail for sure."
I called Parma Police Public Information Officer Scott Traxler on Tuesday. I asked, "Despite the connection this 88-year-old suspect has, why hasn't he been arrested? [The alleged crime] would still be considered a felony."
Traxler said that for the sake of the investigation, the department wants to keep it out of the Parma court system so "it's clean" and to avoid a conflict of interest.
Traxler added that by handing the case to Parma Heights Police, it can bypass the courts and go directly to a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.
"If a true bill is handed down, we'll move forward on charges," Traxler told me over the phone. "If there was no family connection, we would see this all the way through."
I then asked Maddox if she felt like her case would be handled appropriately by having a different police department review the evidence.
"No. It actually scares me," Maddox responded. "If they didn't do anything at the Parma [Police Department] because of conflict of interest, how can I depend on you guys to do anything as well? You could throw the conflict of interest out. It's the part that he's 88 and it happened in Parma. I feel like they should be handling [it] and if that's the case is whoever he's [involved with], they shouldn't have anything to do with it."
Maddox initially told me on Sunday that justice for her son looked like jail time and criminal charges.
While she wants justice for Genesis, she's unsure what that looks like now.
"I don't want to see an 88-year-old man go to jail. I'm not going to lie to you. I just want justice for my son to be served," Maddox stated. "He's the one who has to grow up with a scar across his forehead, stories that are hard. He was run down by a car. I'm doing it for him because I'm his mom, and I would never let anyone think that it's OK."
Genesis is already making a speedy recovery from what we could see on Tuesday. His stitches are healing well, the wounds on his face are scabbed over, his eyes aren't as swollen anymore, and his arm is functioning.
Maddox said this situation ending in court is the only way she sees appropriate. Not only is she seeking justice, but she's also hoping for change.
"At some point the world needs to know that after a certain age you should have to take another driver test to see if you mentally, physically, emotionally could do this like how they have to take eye exams. Elderly people should have to do something to see if they could still be on the road," Maddox said. "If you can't drive, you can't drive."
"Do you forgive the person who did this?," I asked Maddox.
"I forgive him for not killing my son. You didn’t kill him so we go from there. He hurt, but he’s not broken. He’s still here. I’m still here for her, so yes, I forgive you," she said.
Maddox said doctors estimate Genesis' arm will be back to normal in about a month, and he'll continue to have headaches for a while due to the impact on his head.
"I'd say about two months and he'll be back," Maddox said.
Maddox said Genesis begins occupational therapy on Friday.
"It's just a blessing. God knew I needed him. That's all I'm saying. I needed him when I was pregnant. I needed him when he was born. I needed him now," she added. "When I gave birth, he wasn't breathing. They had to bring him back. I almost died too. To have him still in my arms just means everything to me."
Maddox said officials have told her the driver suspected of hitting her and Genesis does have insurance, but that she hasn't been provided with much more information.
The Parma Police Department released the following statement Wednesday evening:
Due to the mass amount of misinformation and misrepresentation of information provided regarding the identification of the suspected vehicle involved in the hit-skip in front of Marc’s, the Parma Police Department would like to clarify the aspects of this incident in its simplest form for transparency and education to those that do not work in the field of law enforcement or other field of legal practice.
Information was obtained by the Parma Police Department that confirmed the color, make, model, and year, (+/- 3 years) of the involved vehicle. Further information was then obtained providing the possible partial license plate alpha-numeric. With assistance from the BMV, we were provided with several pages of registered vehicles with these descriptors. Detectives worked non-stop and believed they identified the SUSPECTED vehicle.
Realizing that the owner of the vehicle had a family connection to a CIVILIAN employee of the department, it was in the best interest of the investigation that it be turned over to a neighboring agency, Parma Heights, to prevent a conflict of interest. The suspected vehicle was seized and towed for evidence processing to be performed by the Parma Heights Police Department.
The reason there was not an immediate arrest is because there were no witnesses or cameras that placed the vehicle owner in the driver’s seat. An investigation is continuing by Parma Heights to gather further evidence to confirm the identity of the driver and pursue charges. To further avoid a conflict of interest, the case will be presented to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Grand Jury. This will bypass any appearance of conflict in the Parma Municipal Court.
Regardless of age, gender, race, or culture, any person suspected of a crime is not arrested until a thorough investigation is completed and there is probable cause to believe they committed the crime. In addition, we cannot release the name and specifics of a person suspected of a crime unless they are formally charged.
Thank you again for all the support shown to Shalonte and her son, Genesis. And thank you for your continued patience and efforts to understand the process of an investigation to ensure an accurate and factual conclusion.
We'll continue to follow through.
Editor's Note: The previous headline of the story stated that a person had not been arrested because of their familial ties to the Parma Police Department. Police say that the reason no one has been arrested yet is because the investigation is still ongoing.
