Brooklyn man charged with felony in fatal Columbia Twp. crash

A Cuyahoga County man has been charged with killing a Strongsville man in a traffic crash while driving impaired in Columbia Township late last month. Kendal Lipke, 32, of Brooklyn, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony, misdemeanor DUI, improper lane usage and possession of marijuana, according to Elyria Municipal Court records. Lipke posted $15,000 bond following his arraignment in Elyria Municipal Court on Aug. 29 and was released. The case has been bound over to a Lorain County grand jury for consideration, according to court records. According to court records, Lipke was behind the wheel of a dark-blue 2013 Dodge Ram cargo van headed north on East River Road/state Route 252 just after 3:45 p.m. Aug. 26 when he went left of center and collided head-on with a silver 2011 Nissan Altima that was headed south, driven by Charles "Chuck" Thall, 52. Both vehicles came to rest in the southbound lane. Thall suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at University Hospitals Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights, according to court records. Lipke suffered only minor injuries and was transported to UH St. John Medical Center in Westlake. State Highway Patrol troopers investigating the crash believed Lipke was impaired by drugs or alcohol. Upon release from the hospital, Lipke was taken into custody and to the patrol's Elyria post. Troopers got a warrant to collect his blood and a sample was sent to the State Highway Patrol Crime Lab for testing. Lipke's van was towed and in a search warrant unsealed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Thursday, Trooper E.D. Rawson — a crash reconstruction expert with the Highway Patrol's Cleveland District Headquarters — asked Judge Chris Cook for permission to search the van for evidence, including digital crash record data. Cook signed the warrant and Rawson retrieved the digital data on Thursday — the same day of Thall's visiting hours and memorial service at Jardine Funeral Home in Strongsville, according to his published obituary. Thall, a Painesville native, was a graduate of Fairport Harding High School and Case Western Reserve University and was the owner of RaeTrent Remodeling and Strongsville Fence. He and his wife, Michelle, had been married for 26 years, and he is survived by her, the couple's three children, his parents, three siblings, a sister-in-law, nieces, nephews and other family. Thall also founded Discover Fairport Harbor and established the Donald S. Thall Memorial Scholarship at Fairport Harding High School in honor of his grandfather, according to his obituary. He was an avid Ohio State football fan, coached basketball and football in Strongsville and played golf. "Chuck was a family man. They will always remember him for his dad jokes and one-liners. He was a very giving, kind, and nostalgic man," his obituary says. The family asked that memorial contributions be made to a GoFundMe account in Chuck Thall's honor. It can be found at gofund.me/dd33875e. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.