Cuyahoga County man indicted in fatal Columbia Twp. crash in August

A Lorain County grand jury has charged a Cuyahoga County man with killing a Strongsville man in a traffic crash in Columbia Township in August. Kendal Lipke, 32, of Brooklyn, is facing charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of DUI, reckless operation and directional signals required, according to an indictment handed up in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Thursday. Lipke is free on bond. The case has yet to be assigned to a Common Pleas judge, according to court records. The charges allege that Lipke was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana when he caused a fatal crash in Columbia Township on Aug. 26. According to the State Highway Patrol and court records, Lipke was driving north on East River Road/state Route 252 in a 2013 Dodge Ram cargo van just after 3:45 p.m. that day. At the same time, 52-year-old Charles "Chuck" Thall was headed south, driving a 2011 Nissan Altima. The highway patrol said Lipke drove left of center and collided head-on with Thall's car. Both cars ended up in the southbound lane. Thall was fatally injured and pronounced dead at University Hospitals Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights, according to court records. Lipke was treated for minor injuries at UH St. John Medical Center in Westlake. Highway Patrol troopers got a warrant for a blood sample from Lipke that was sent to their crime lab for testing. Judge Chris Cook also signed a warrant giving troopers permission to search for and seize digital crash record data from Lipke's van. Thall was a Painesville native and Case Western Reserve University graduate who owned RaeTrent Remodeling and Strongsville Fence. Thall is survived by his wife of 26 years, Michelle, the couple's three children, his parents, siblings, and other family members. He was an avid Ohio State Buckeyes football fan and coached basketball and football in Strongsville, according to his published obituary. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.