A bicyclist struck by a car driven by longtime Elyria Police Department employee Frances Ross is seeking damages in a civil case filed more than a year after the June 13, 2024, crash. Justin Ballew says the collision left him with broken toes, a damaged bicycle and no job.
Ross, 64, worked for years as the department's applications specialist, according to cleveland19.com. The station reported that surveillance video showed Ross's black BMW roll through a stop sign, strike Ballew and continue away. Ballew told the outlet that the impact damaged his bicycle's front forks, wheel and part of the frame.
A $50 Fine, Two Months Later
Ross was not cited until August 22, 2024 — two months after the crash — records show. Elyria Law Director Amanda Deery said Ross pleaded no contest at arraignment, was found guilty, and was sentenced. The following month, she was found guilty of failing to yield and issued a $50 fine, per the same report.
Hit-skip charges were never filed. The case went to a special prosecutor, North Ridgeville's Sean Kelleher, who reviewed the evidence and concluded Ross likely did not realize she had made contact with Ballew. “In order to be guilty of hit skip a motorist has to know they hit somebody/something,” Kelleher said, according to cleveland19.com's reporting. He noted that Ballew was riding on the wrong side of the street — itself illegal — and may have been blocked from Ross's view by the car's A-pillar.
Police Didn't Cite the Bicyclist
Police confirmed Ballew was riding on the wrong side of the road, but he was not cited for it. The station reported that Ballew questioned why Ross, a police department employee, was not held to a higher standard.
What Ohio law says about bicycling on roads
Ohio law generally requires bicyclists on roadways to ride as near to the right side as practicable and follow traffic rules, while allowing them to move away from the edge when doing so is unreasonable or unsafe, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Ballew told the outlet that losing his bicycle took away his primary mode of transportation and that he also lost his job.
Civil Suit Seeks Damages
Ballew's lawsuit, filed in Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, seeks medical expenses and punitive damages, cleveland19.com reported in October. His attorney told the outlet Ballew broke several toes in the crash. The lawsuit also revisits Ross's tenure with the department, which the outlet has described as 30 years in one report and as 31 years before her retirement in another.
The lawsuit remains pending, and it is not clear from available records what response, if any, Ross has filed in court.
