Man indicted in Englewood woman’s death accused of fleeing traffic stop

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

A grand jury indicted a man accused of hitting two people, including an Englewood woman who died from her injuries, and a house while fleeing a traffic stop last year.

Walter Douglas Elofskey, 31, of Dayton, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after an accident along with single counts of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, aggravated vehicular assault, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of a fentanyl-related compound in addition to three misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter and two counts of OVI.

Elofskey’s bond was previously set at $1 million in Vandalia Municipal Court.

On Sept. 10, an Englewood police officer attempted to stop Elofskey while he was driving a 2004 Volvo XC70 for speeding and false registration on South Main Street near Wolf Avenue.

The car initially slowed down, but then sped up and fled, prompting the officer to pursue the vehicle, Englewood police Sgt. Mike Lang previously said.

The pursuit lasted about 1.3 miles.

The Volvo T-boned a 2017 Toyota Yaris iA as it tried to turn left onto Sweet Potato Ridge Road. The Volvo then went onto the sidewalk and hit two pedestrians before continuing through two yards and hitting a house, according to a crash report.

In total, five people were transported to the hospital — both pedestrians, the sole occupant of the Toyota, Elofskey and his passenger.

One of the pedestrians, 71-year-old Marie Hansen of Englewood, was pronounced dead at Kettering Health Dayton. The second pedestrian suffered serious injuries and the driver of the Toyota had minor injuries, according to court documents.

A police K-9 tracked Elofskey and his passenger to a shed nearby after they reportedly fled the crash on foot. They were taken to the hospital after showing signs of an overdose, police said.

Elofskey tested positive for fentanyl, amphetamine, xylazine and methamphetamine, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. He also did not have a valid driver’s license.

“This defendant, high on fentanyl and meth, fled from police and ended up killing an innocent woman and put two other innocent bystanders in the hospital,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said. “Not to mention the dangerous situation in which he put other drivers. This type of behavior must stop! If you are under the influence, you have no business getting behind the wheel in the first place, let alone fleeing from a traffic stop.”

Elofskey was also indicted on breaking and entering and grand theft charges for reportedly stealing more than $8,000 worth of tools and construction equipment from Sinclair Community College.

The items were taken from a parking garage on Aug. 19, according to the prosecutor’s office.

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