Latest news with #Hildal
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Trooper cleared of wrongdoing in fatal shooting of woman on I-275 in Clermont County
The Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper who shot and killed a woman driving the wrong way on Interstate 275 has been cleared of wrongdoing, according to prosecutors. Trooper Andrew Francher fatally shot 34-year-old Kelsey Hildal, of Blue Ash, during a confrontation on the interstate in Union Township on April 1. The Clermont County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release May 14 that Francher's actions were "reasonable, appropriate, and necessary to protect both his own life and the lives of others." Prosecutors said there would not be a case presented to a grand jury. The decision not to pursue charges came after the prosecutor's office reviewed the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's findings, as well as body camera and dashboard camera footage. Woman raised and lowered hands after showing gun to trooper in fatal I-275 shooting Francher was patrolling the interstate around 11:15 p.m. on April 1 when he observed Hildal driving an SUV the wrong way in the southbound lanes, prosecutors said. The trooper received approval from his supervisor to crash his cruiser into Hildal's vehicle and pin the SUV against a concrete barrier to bring it to a stop. Prosecutors said Hildal "posed an immediate threat to public safety." Body and dashboard camera footage show Francher coming upon Hildal, driving in the wrong direction on the highway, and turning around to catch up to her. Hildal, driving on the shoulder with her hazard lights on, brakes as the trooper intentionally crashes his cruiser into her car, wedging it next to the concrete barrier. As the trooper calls in that he's stopped Hildal, she raises her hands with what appears to be a pistol in her right hand, pointed toward her car roof. "She's got a gun," the trooper yells out over his radio. "Show me your hands! Show me your hands now!" the trooper yells out toward Hildal, who drops the gun but continues to raise and lower her hands. The trooper makes several commands to Hildal to not move or reach anything, eventually stepping out of his cruiser and holding her at gunpoint. Hildal continues to raise and lower her hands out the driver's side window, and at one point, the trooper fires. Twelve shots rang out in rapid succession. Prosecutors said Hildal's Glock handgun was loaded with a round in the chamber. Inside her vehicle were also two shotguns, which she legally owned. The video footage showed Hildal wearing what appears to be a type of black tactical, possibly bulletproof vest, with a helmet nearby. Police pulled Hildal from the vehicle and provided medical aid after the shooting stopped. She died of her injuries at the scene. "It should be clear to all that police officers have the right to protect their own lives as well as those of the public," Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in a statement. According to her obituary, Hildal was a "true athlete" who played basketball, soccer and mixed martial arts. From early in life, she suffered from severe health problems that forced her to have to learn how to walk again at the age of 10, her high school basketball coach told columnist Bill Speltz in 2009. Involuntary facial twitches and spasms were constant until she underwent a medical procedure to try and fix the issue. Just a few years after that, Hildal was involved in a bad car accident that fractured her arm and gave her a head injury that "changed her personality," Speltz wrote. Hildal persevered, at one point joining a Montana boarding school's basketball team and scoring a school-record 39 points as a 5'4" guard. "She loved the phrase: 'Everything is figureoutable' with this current circumstance being a clear exception," Hildal's obituary reads. "This beautiful soul was a fascinating being; kind, bright, loyal, and unforgettable." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper cleared of wrongdoing in shooting
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Former Bravettes star Hildal dies in police shooting
Apr. 5—The Flathead High School family received tragic news out of Ohio on Thursday that former basketball player Kesley Hildal died in a police shooting April 1. Hildal spent just one year at Flathead, but had such an impressive senior season in 2008-09 — she averaged 18.8 points and scored a school-record 39 against Missoula Big Sky — that colleges took notice. She appeared to be a popular teammate and had a big booster in then-coach Kim Elliott, who mentored Hildal in his third and final season as the Bravettes' varsity coach. "Kelsey is why we live," he said Friday. "You glean from her to find what strength you've got. She definitely has a spark in my soul." She was a comet at Flathead: Seemingly out of nowhere this highly skilled, 5-foot-4 player showed up and people couldn't stop her. "She was allowed to come in from the Montana (Youth Challenge) Academy, as a trial thing," Elliott said. "She was under extremely strict rules. She could not take a ride from anybody. She went from school to practice to home. Basketball was it. "Basketball was saving her life. And it did, for a while, until whatever that unfortunate situation happened with her this week." The story at said that the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Union Township police responded to a wrong-way driver on I-175 just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday. In a release, police said a trooper crashed his cruiser into Hildal's vehicle, a Ford Escape, to stop the pursuit. Hildal displayed a firearm and officers opened fire, the patrol said. She died at the scene. Hildal was 34. In her life, she'd survived brain surgery to stop a disorder called hemifacial spasm, then a car crash that left her with a punctured lung, a broken arm and quite possibly a brain injury. Behavioral problems surfaced that eighth-grade year and continued until her parents sent her to a wilderness boot camp in North Carolina, then to the Montana Academy. All of this was detailed in a Daily Inter Lake story written by Dixie Knutson and published on March 7, 2009. "Basketball is so important. It's a huge motivator for me," Hildal said then. "I look forward to going to practice. I feel in my element." By then, she was a sensation. Elliott recalled Brock Osweiler seeing her the first couple days in the gym and being awed. That was before she scored 39 against Joslyn Tinkle and the rest of the Big Sky Eagles. "How do you do that?" Elliott asked. "For her to do that, just on her own." The answer might be where the hoop went up at her Ohio home. "She told me where she grew up, the driveway was on a hill," Elliott said. "She'd practiced free throws and — because she didn't want to chase the ball down the hill — that the most free throws she made in a row were 144." Another answer is she was enormously gifted, or made from Division I stock — in fact her twin sister Alix was a standout soccer player at Ole Miss. Elliott served as her guardian for an official visit to UM and Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig. "He said, 'We would love you to come and join us,'" Elliott recalled. "'When I saw what you did against Tinkle and Big Sky, that definitely caught my attention.'" Like a lot of walk-ons before and since, Hildal didn't stay. Hildal had tried her hand at mixed martial arts and according to some Facebook posts from friends and fellow fighters, was set to make her professional debut. Elliott noted she was involved with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but that contact with his former player had gotten more sporadic. Same with her parents, who'd thanked him profusely for his role in her time at Flathead. "Just a really gifted athlete, and gifted academically," Elliott said. "She loved basketball and she loved ketchup. We'd go to restaurants, and she'd devour those little packets. And her tongue was always hanging out on free throws." Elliott, not for the first time, became emotional. "She fought through some very unfortunate things that began with that accident," he said. "If you're coaching, you're a parent, you're a teacher. ... Just listen to the kids you're involved with. Don't judge. I learned a long time ago, give them time and space, let them play. Give them a hug after the game. I wish I could give Kelsey a hug right now."
