MEDINA, Ohio — Nine broken ribs. Five broken vertebrae. A broken pelvis bone. A broken forehead. A broken nose. A torn liver and a collapsed lung.
Those are just some of the injuries Laura Schmid, 55, suffered after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver last November in Medina.
Driver arrested and charged
Medina police used evidence found at the scene, camera technology, and witness statements to track down a suspect, who was arrested more than three weeks after the hit-skip.
Jayvonte Thomas, 27, of Medina, was indicted for failure to stop after an accident, a felony of the fourth degree.
His case was scheduled to go on trial in February, but that was continued for a potential change of plea hearing on April 15 before Judge William Hutson. The hearing was originally scheduled for March 15; however, it was postponed.
'Intervention in Lieu of Conviction'
Thomas's attorney, Paul Grant, filed a motion asking the judge to consider Thomas for a program called Intervention in Lieu of Conviction or IILOC.
According to a court journal entry signed by the judge, if the defendant is statutorily eligible to be accepted into the program, "the defendant will enter a guilty plea to the indictment. However, a finding of guilty will not be made."
The order explains that Thomas would be placed under the control and supervision of the Adult Probation Department for one to five years. If he completes the program, the charge against him will be dismissed.
While the judge will not make a ruling on the IILOC motion until March 15 at the earliest, the fact that it's under consideration has outraged Schmid's husband, Mark Schmuck.
"If the judge allows this to happen, he might as well get in his car, prosecutors get in their car and drive back over her again. It's the same feeling," Schmuck said. "You're getting kicked in the face through the judicial system over something like that. That hurts. That really hurts."
What happened that night
The hit-and-run happened just after 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Schmid and Schmuck had just finished eating dinner at a restaurant near Downtown Medina. Since the weather was nice, Schmid decided to walk home and get some exercise.
However, as she tried to cross Smith Road near Jefferson Street, she tripped over a leaf pile and fell in the road.
As witnesses tried to help her to her feet, an SUV traveling east struck Schmid, leaving her critically injured.
"The woman fell off of the curb. We tried to warn the passing vehicle and he ran her over," a witness told a 911 operator.
Detective Michael Wovna responded to the scene and started to learn the details of what happened.
"A male, a very tall male, exited the vehicle, kind of looked around," Wovna said. "He asked the pedestrians what they were looking at, and then looked around the back of the vehicle— potentially realizing what he did— and then got back into the vehicle and sped off."
A business camera at Sweets and Geeks captured the suspected vehicle, a bright blue Jeep Compass, driving away on Smith Road.
'She was in pretty bad shape'
In the meantime, Schmuck, who was at home waiting for his wife, was notified of the incident by police.
He hurried to Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital, where he discovered his wife's injuries were so bad, he wasn't sure if she would survive.
"I had no idea. The sergeant, Nate Simpson, said it doesn't look good," Schmuck recalled.
Schmid was transported by medical helicopter to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where she was treated for eight days.
In addition to multiple broken bones, she suffered many cuts, bruises and abrasions.
"She was in pretty bad shape," Schmuck said.
The investigation
During that time, Wovna continued to put the pieces together on the investigation and said it became "a huge deal" to solve the case.
In addition to the video from Sweets and Geeks, Wovna had statements from witnesses and car parts that were found at the scene.
A Medina police officer, who was on a traffic stop on a different street that night, also reported seeing an SUV squealing its tires on Smith Road. At the time, the officer was unaware of the hit-skip.
Wovna began searching for images of cars on the Flock camera system and found a Jeep that appeared to be a match.
The car was caught on cameras coming into Medina the night before the accident and heading north in Middleburg Heights about 20 minutes after Schmid was struck.
After getting the license plate from the videos, police were able to determine that the vehicle was owned by a Cleveland woman.
The woman was interviewed 10 days after the hit-skip. She identified herself as Thomas's girlfriend and said she was in the passenger seat on the night of the accident and that Thomas was driving.
Wovna said during questioning that the woman admitted that she and Thomas panicked that night, and they were in a hurry to get to the airport so she could catch a flight for a cruise.
That explanation stunned the detective.
"When somebody else's life and well being is on the line and your thought is I need to go on vacation," Wovna said.
After getting more information, police located the damaged blue Jeep Compass at another home in Cleveland where a relative of Thomas lives.
Thomas arrested, eligible for IILOC
On Dec. 4, Thomas was arrested at a Medina home. According to the police report, "he was very cooperative, calm and respectfully declined speaking about the incident without his attorney present."
Michael Gentithes, a law professor at the University of Akron, said defendants charged with first, second or third-degree felonies are not eligible for the IILOC program.
However, Grant was able to file the motion— in part— because Thomas's alleged crime is a fourth-degree felony. Grant declined multiple requests for an interview.
"It's an alternative to a conviction that seeks rehabilitation for the defendant in the cases where there's a genuine underlying substance abuse issue or mental health issue," Gentithes said.
In his motion, Grant gave a preliminary reason for requesting the hearing, stating, "....Thomas has mental health issues that will be assessed and corrected through the IILOC program."
Schmuck also takes issue with the girlfriend not facing any charges.
"I guarantee you she has a cell phone. She couldn't dial 911? She couldn't have forced him to stop? It's her vehicle. Hiding the vehicle, that's tampering with evidence," he said.
However, Wovna said there was not an appropriate charge under the Ohio Revised Code.
"There's nothing in the Ohio Revised Code that states that a person being in the passenger seat has the duty to call out the driver of that vehicle," Wovna said, "Not coming forward, not incriminating someone is not enough to actually charge someone."
Schmid's recovery continues
Schmuck said his wife continues to deal with the emotional trauma from the hit-skip. He estimated it would take at least a year for her to recover from her injuries, and she will likely have back pain for the rest of her life.
Both plan to be in court on April 15 to address the judge.
"I'm gonna be there. I'm gonna be there with my impact statement," Schmuck said, "My wife will be there. She won't be able to get up and speak. She's emotional. She'll break down."
