LORAIN, Ohio — Lorain police said Tuesday that US Marshals Service has joined the search for a "person of interest" in a violent hit and run crash that critically injured a mother and her two sons and killed her unborn baby Friday night.
The crash happened just before 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of West 21st Street and Ashland Avenue.
Lorain police said 29-year-old Alisia McCoy, who was six months pregnant, had just left her mother's house with her two sons and was headed home when the driver of rented Cadillac SUV sped through a stop sign and plowed into the passenger side of McCoy's Kia Forte.
Witnesses said the SUV ended up on its roof just feet from a home. McCoy's car was pushed several yards down the street by the force of the impact.
Her 10-year-old son, who was in the passenger seat of the car, was flown to a Cleveland hospital where police said he underwent surgery for a leg injury.
McCoy's 5-year-old son, who was in the backseat of the car, was treated and released from the hospital.
Investigators said McCoy was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Her unborn son did not survive.
Officer Kyle Gelenius, Traffic Commissioner with Lorain Police, said the case struck a nerve with police.
"Especially with an unborn child, there’s so much potential in that child’s life and this family now has to live with this trauma for the rest of their lives and it’s just very unfortunate and heartbreaking," said Gelenius.
Police said the driver of the SUV crawled from the wreckage and ran away.
Minutes before the crash, Lorain Police said they tried stopping the vehicle after it peeled out of a nearby gas station.
"When he took off they terminated and the officers actually turned the other way to investigate some other issue and then one or two minutes later we got the call of the crash," said Gelenius.
Police said they obtained the driver's DNA from blood at the scene. They said they also found cell phones and a gun left in the crashed SUV, which investigators said also smelled of marijuana.
Police said they developed a "person of interest" in the case from tips from the public. They believe the man is wanted as part of an unrelated drug investigation and said the US Marshals Service is assisting in the search for the man.
Police are hoping more tips from the public will help catch him before anyone else gets hurt.
"It could have been you or your children just going down the street and you’re T-boned by some crazy driver that who knows what was going on with him," said Gelenius.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Lorain Police at (440) 204-2115.
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