Family friend, not mom, was woman injured in crash that killed 4-year-old trick-or-treater

The woman who was critically injured after being struck in an Oct. 31 crash that killed a 4-year-old girl who was trick-or-treating has been officially identified by Columbus police as a friend of the girl's family, not the child's mother.

Columbus police Sgt. Joe Albert said Tuesday morning that Valeria Saucedo, a 33-year-old single mother of three, was struck along with 4-year-old Catherine Rodriguez.

Saucedo and Catherine were part of a group of people who were trick-or-treating around 6:55 p.m. on Oct. 31 on Westerville Road on the city's Northeast Side. The group was crossing the street near Valley Park Avenue, in a crosswalk that was illuminated with flashing lights, when they were struck by a Ford F-150.

Previous reporting:4-year-old killed in crash while trick-or-treating with mom on Northeast Side identified

Police have not yet identified the driver of the pickup truck, who remained at the scene and has been cooperative with the investigation.

The Dispatch had previously reported that Catherine's mother, Beatriz Rodriguez, was the woman who was struck. An online fundraiser raising money for Catherine's remains to be sent to El Salvador, where she has family, had said she was struck while with her mother.

Columbus police did not formally identify anyone involved in the crash at the time, despite repeated requests from The Dispatch to do so. The crash report was requested through a public records request that The Dispatch has not yet received and it had not been uploaded to the Ohio Department of Public Safety's crash report database as of Tuesday morning.

Saucedo's family has started an online fundraiser to raise money to cover her medical expenses. An attorney for her family said Saucedo remains on a ventilator and is battling an infection. Her family is currently focused on caring for her three children.

The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

Toddler who drowned in retention pond identified

On Tuesday morning, Columbus police identified a 2-year-old boy who died on Sunday evening after being pulled from a Northwest Side retention pond.

Police said Issa Alazzawi died at 4:11 p.m. Sunday after being pulled from a body of water at the Island Club apartments on the city's Northwest Side. Neighbors had pulled the boy from the retention pond around 3 p.m. that afternoon.

Previous coverage:2-year-old boy dies after being pulled from pond at apartment complex on Northwest Side

The apartment complex does not have fencing or other barriers around retention ponds. City code does not require those for apartment complexes within city limits.

Man wanted by sheriff's office for Clinton Township homicide

The Franklin County Sheriff's office is looking for 23-year-old Charlie Sanders in connection with a Saturday morning shooting in Clinton Township.

Sanders, of the Far North Side, has been charged with murder. He is accused of shooting another man around 5:20 a.m. Saturday at a home on the 2000 block of Radnor Avenue in Clinton Township.

The victim, 24-year-old Korben D. Westberry, was taken to OhioHealth Riverside Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. Westberry lived at the Radnor Avenue home where the homicide took place.

South Side stabbing victim identified

A man who was found stabbed to death in a South Side home on Saturday afternoon was identified on Tuesday.

Noral Koehn, 46, was found around 2 p.m. Saturday inside a home on the 900 block of Ruma Road on the city's South Side after a person called 911 for a welfare check. Koehn was determined to have been stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Related coverage:Two men arrested after unidentified man found fatally stabbed on Columbus' South Side

Columbus police arrested 19-year-old William Barker, of Canton, and charged him with murder and tampering with evidence. Lance Harrison, 23, of the South Side, also was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence.

Barker is currently being held in the Franklin County jail on a $1 million bond. Harrison was released after posting a $100,000 bond.

Man killed in Northeast Side shooting

A 19-year-old man was killed in a shooting on Monday night on the city's Northeast Side.

Columbus police identified the man, who was found shot around 9:10 p.m. on the 2000 block of Jermain Drive, as Joshua Bean, of the Northeast Side.

Homicide database:Here's where homicides have occurred in Columbus since 2017

Police said Bean was rushed to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in critical condition, however, he succumbed to his injuries. A 21-year-old man also was injured in the shooting but was treated and released from an area hospital.

Police have not identified a motive or said what led up to the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman ID'd who was injured in crash that killed girl trick-or-treating