Four months after a hit-and-run driver killed 28-year-old Colton Dearing just steps from his own front door, four people now face criminal charges in connection with his death. Dearing, a son, brother and father of four, was struck and killed on Old State Route 74 in Batavia Township just before 12:30 a.m. on May 25, 2026, and died at the scene.
Kara Leeann Shank is charged with failing to stop after an accident, a second-degree felony, according to WKRC. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4549.02, failing to stop after a crash that the driver knew resulted in death is a second-degree felony and carries a mandatory driver's license suspension. Shank remained in the Clermont County jail, held on a $75,000 bond.
Three others are accused of helping cover up what happened in the hours and days afterward. Rebecca Shank is charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, while Donavin Reece and Jessica Washington are each charged with obstruction of justice, the station's report states. Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton said Reece, Washington and Rebecca Shank came in and bonded out over the last few days.
Colton Dearing's brother, Derrick Kimberly, said he's struggling to understand why the driver didn't stop. Kimberly said the vehicle did not slow down and kept going after hitting Dearing, and he and other family members plan to attend upcoming court hearings in support of Dearing, per the same account. Shank is scheduled to return to court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing as the legal process continues.
A Memorial and a Four-Month Search
In the days after the crash, Dearing's family and friends set up a roadside memorial of balloons, candles and crosses along Old State Route 74 near Olive Branch Cemetery Road, the spot where he was struck, according to WXIX. The memorial went up while state troopers were still searching for the driver who fled the scene, and the Ohio Highway Patrol investigated the case over the following months before charges were filed.
Dearing had been walking home along Old State Route 74 near Olive Branch Cemetery Road around 12:20 a.m. after an argument, according to WXIX, and was killed just four minutes from his residence. He left behind four children, with a fifth on the way.
A Township Without Its Own Police Force
Batavia Township is an unincorporated community in central Clermont County with no municipal police department of its own. Instead, it relies on eight full-time contract deputies from the Clermont County Sheriff's Office, working out of a substation on Clough Pike.
The township has seen a string of serious vehicle-related and violent incidents in recent months. A man was accused in August of intentionally running down a neighbor on Wooded Ridge Drive, and that same month a road-rage shooting and pursuit ended in a SWAT standoff.
The Crash Just After Midnight
Dearing was struck at approximately 12:20 a.m., 20 minutes after midnight.
Dearing's family is looking ahead to Tuesday's pretrial hearing and the court proceedings still to come.
