by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Maple Heights -- Police have charged two 19-year-olds in connection with the Oct. 26 car accident in which a former Maple Heights man was struck and killed while riding on his bicycle.
According to Garfield Heights police, Samantha Rauch, of Richfield, was arrested March 17 and charged with vehicular homicide, misdemeanor of the first degree. Her boyfriend, Anthony Hominsky Jr., formerly of Maple Heights, was arrested March 14 and charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, both first degree misdemeanors.
They are awaiting arraignments in Garfield Heights Municipal Court.
Police say Michael Gedeon, 54, of Garfield Heights, was riding his bicycle in the curb lane on Granger Road in Garfield Heights at 10:30 p.m. when he was struck by a motor vehicle. He was found on the sidewalk by a passerby and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.
There were no witnesses and the investigation stalled, police said.
But, thanks in part to a memorial set up along the road where Gedeon died, the investigation took off again.
According to Garfield Heights Police Capt. Tom Kaiser, police received an anonymous tip earlier this year that led them to investigate Hominsky.
According to police, the investigation led police to believe that Rauch was allegedly driving a 1991 Toyota Camry that hit Gedeon.
Police reports state police believe that Hominsky, who was in the car, allegedly switched places with Rauch and drove to his apartment in Broadview Heights.
Police allege that Rauch and Hominsky tried to hide evidence of the crime by smashing out the driver's side and passenger's side windows of the vehicle and removing the CD player, making it look like the car had been vandalized at their apartment.
According to the police report, Hominsky filed a police report stating the car had been vandalized, "then junked it the same day."
Gedeon's family had approached several media outlets to publicize the accident in an attempt to produce new leads in the case.
"My son always rode a bike because he did not have a car," Phyllis Gedeon said in a January interview. "He was leaving Southgate USA. He was doing so wonderful, attending Bible classes and doing everything he was supposed to do."
"It just shocked us," she said of his death. "He was just turning his life around. We just could not get over it."
E-mail: TTroglen@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3165