On Saturday, November 7, 7 year old Vincent Baran was riding his bicycle in the quaint northeast Ohio town of Hudson, Ohio. It was around 3:30pm. No weather issues. No visibility issues… just a great day to take a bike ride. Unfortunately, Vincent Baran didn’t make it home… as he was riding along on the sidewalk a 60 year old motorist, Denise Ahlstrom, was pulling out of a driveway. Ms. Ahlstrom struck Vince with her car, killing him.
As we do in EVERY fatal crash in which a cyclist is killed in Ohio we have ordered the entire public file… the crash report, witness statements, photos/video, measurements, “Total Station” data, BodyCam & CruiserCam, any Forensic Reports, any Toxicology data, any crash reconstruction data, and any autopsy report. Eventually, we’ll report on what happened and why…
For now, though, we grieve with the family and friends of Vincent Baran. Writing an obituary for a child is something no parent should ever have to do…here, Vincent’s story is briefly told …
Transparency is important in these cases. Initially, police were not releasing any information about the motorist. They were so tight-lipped that the Cleveland media published
a story about it. The story reports that 2000-3000 people gathered to hold balloons and celebrate the boy’s life… Hudson Police initially refused to release the most basic information about the crash… information the Ohio Supreme Court has found to be public records that cannot be shielded from public view…
Now it seems that behind the scenes things were happening. The motorist & her attorney were apparently working things out with prosecutors and the police. We don’t know what happened, of course. However,
suddenly there was a flurry of paper filed in the Stow Municipal Court’s website… the driver, Denise Ahlstom, was charged with a second degree misdemeanor – vehicular manslaughter – and a minor misdemeanor of failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian on the sidewalk. She entered a Not Guilty plea. Bond was set at $10,000. Bond was posted. She was ordered to “Report Immediately” to Hudson Police for booking. The case was set for a Trial on January 20, 2021 adn a Pre-Trial at 12:30pm on December 1.
All of this apparently happened very quickly on Thursday, November 19. As far as I can tell, nobody in the media knew about it because nothing was filed until the whole thing was over.
Now, in the Civid-era Courts are very persnickety about who comes & goes in a courtroom. Perhaps this was done remotely, via Zoom, or semi-privately. Maybe the defendant signed off on paperwork and nobody actually appeared “in person.” Maybe it was more “public” than we realize as we are 200+ miles away and following the case through the police & court websites or via media stories. However, Transparency is very important in a case like this… Transparency means doing Courtroom stuff in PUBLIC, with a notice posted on the website so folks interested in the case can keep track of things – or show up if they want. This case drew a lot of public attention in Hudson and having the defendant move in and out of Court without anyone knowing about it just seems a bit … odd…
WE will keep an eye on this case, as we do with EVERY fatal bike crash, and keep you posted on what we learn…
Printed from: https://ohiobikelawyer.com/bike-law-101/2020/11/7-year-old-cyclist-killed-manslaughter-charges-filed-in-hudson-ohio/ .
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