A pedestrian was left with serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle near Paragon Road and Spring Valley Pike in Washington Township late on Monday, July 20, and the driver never stopped to help. Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the report of an injured pedestrian at 11:02 p.m. at the intersection of Paragon Road and State Route 725, and more than two weeks later, the driver responsible has still not been identified.
According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the Traffic Services Unit is now formally asking the public for help as detectives continue working the case. Investigators say the driver left the scene after striking the pedestrian on Paragon Road near Spring Valley Pike, and they are asking anyone who witnessed the crash or who noticed suspicious activity near the area that night to come forward. The sheriff's office says the investigation remains ongoing, with no arrests announced as of the August 6 request for public assistance.
A Reward Is Now on the Table
Miami Valley Crime Stoppers has stepped in to offer a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the driver responsible, per the sheriff's office. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling 937-222-STOP (7867), submitting information online at miamivalleycrimestoppers.com, or using the P3 Tips mobile app. Miami Valley Crime Stoppers is a regional non-profit that routes anonymous tips from the public directly to investigating agencies and offers rewards up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest in felony cases.
Police protection in unincorporated Washington Township runs through a contract with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, which operates a dedicated substation at 8190 McEwen Road staffed by 36.5 personnel, including road patrol deputies, detectives, and a Traffic Services deputy, according to the Washington Township government. That substation investigated 458 traffic crashes and 292 detective cases in 2025 alone while providing round-the-clock coverage for a township of more than 32,000 residents.
A Dangerous Stretch of Roadway
The crash site sits along a corridor with a rough safety track record. State Route 725 ranked as the third most crash-prone state route in Montgomery County in 2025, logging 400 total vehicle collisions, according to Ohio Department of Transportation data. Just a year earlier, in July 2025, a motorcycle-and-truck collision on Paragon Road just north of SR 725 turned fatal, with speed cited as a factor, as reported by WHIO TV.
Pedestrian strikes carry outsized risk of severe injury compared with other types of crashes. Multi-year regional crash analysis from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission found that while bicycle and pedestrian collisions make up roughly 1% of all traffic crashes in the region, they account for 8% of all serious injury collisions. Countywide, Montgomery County logged 882 pedestrian-vehicle crashes between January 2020 and September 2025, ranking fourth among Ohio's 88 counties for total pedestrian crashes, per data reported by WVXU.
What the Fleeing Driver Could Face
Ohio law treats hit-and-run crashes involving serious injury as a serious offense. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4549.02, leaving the scene of a crash that results in serious physical harm is a fifth-degree felony that escalates to a fourth-degree felony if prosecutors can prove the driver knew serious harm had occurred, carrying 6 to 18 months in prison, fines up to $5,000, and a license suspension of six months to three years. It remains unknown what type of vehicle was involved or whether the driver has been identified by investigators.
Washington Township leaders have separately moved to expand the substation's capacity. In December 2025, the township's Board of Trustees voted to place a 0.9-mill continuous police levy on the May 5, 2026 ballot, aiming to generate roughly $1.7 million annually to add a detective, two road patrol deputies, and two cruisers to the sheriff's office contingent serving the township. Countywide, Ohio State Highway Patrol data for 2025 recorded 64,734 total vehicle incidents, including 17 traffic fatalities and 146 serious injuries, underscoring the broader scale of the safety challenge facing Montgomery County roads.
Anyone with information about the July 20 hit-and-run is urged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Traffic Services Unit or submit an anonymous tip through Miami Valley Crime Stoppers.
