Suspect in fatal hit-skip involving motorcycle caught after 2-hour manhunt

A man accused driving off after plowing into the back of a motorcycle, killing the driver, is in custody after a two-hour manhunt in a wooded area.

Chad Holbrook, 49, of Norwalk, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and operating a vehicle while impaired, according to the State Highway Patrol. He is being held in the Huron County Jail.

According to a news release from the patrol’s Norwalk post, Holbrook was driving a 2007 Chevrolet truck north on Ohio 61 near Ohio 601 at about 8:39 p.m. Wednesday when he crashed into the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by Benjamin Conley, 46, of Collins.

The impact threw Conley from the motorcycle and into a ditch. Conley, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, the patrol says.

Holbrook did not stop after the crash, continuing on Ohio 61 while dragging the motorcycle with his truck. He turned north onto Seminary Road and the motorcycle eventually became dislodged.

Holbrook eventually turned right onto McIntyre Road but had to stop on the road about two miles from where the crash occurred because of the damage to his truck.

Hayden Service, an off-duty deputy with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, saw the crash and followed Holbrook, the patrol says. When Holbrook stopped his truck, Service got out of his vehicle and identified himself as a deputy. Holbrook reportedly ignored orders to stop and ran into a wooded area.

A two-hour manhunt involving several law-enforcement agencies followed, with Holbrook eventually taken into custody. Holbrook was not wearing a seatbelt when the crash occurred, but was not injured.