Man indicted for fatal hit-and-run crash

NORWALK – The man accused of hitting and killing a motorcyclist while intoxicated and then fleeing the scene has been indicated on eleven charges, including five felonies.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, on October 5, Benjamin Curtis Conley, 46, of Collins, was killed when Chad Holbrook, 49, of Norwalk, was driving a 2007 Chevy truck northbound on SR 61 and rear-ended Conley’s 2000 Harley Davidson motorcycle. Conley was killed when he was thrown from his motorcycle.

According to the Highway Patrol, Holbrook continued driving north on SR 61 while dragging the Harley Davidson. Erie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Hayden Service, who was off-duty at the time of the crash, witnessed the crash and followed Holbrook.  When Holbrook stopped, Deputy Service exited his vehicle and identified himself as law enforcement and ordered Holbrook to stop as he was exiting the truck. Holbrook allegedly fled on foot into a wooded area, which led to a two hour manhunt.

On Friday, Holbrook was indicted in Huron County Common Pleas Court for the following counts:

Aggravated vehicular homicide, a first-degree felony
Aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony
Vehicular homicide, a fourth-degree felony
Failure to stop after an accident, a second-degree felony
Failure to stop after an accident, a thrid-degree felony
Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, a first-degree misdemeanor
Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, a first-degree misdemeanor
Obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor
Failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a first-degree misdemeanor
Driving Under OVI Suspension, a first-degree misdemeanor
Driving under suspension or in violation of license restriction, a first-degree misdemeanor

According to the indictment, Holbrook has a history of driving intoxicated, with him pleading guilty to it at least three times and having his license being under an OVI suspension at the time of the fatal crash.

Holbrook was in court on Thursday and pled not guilty to the charges. He will be back in court on November 23 for a pretrial.

This article was written by Nate Hinners. Contact Nate at nhinners@huroninsider.com.