It is an investigation never before conducted by a law enforcement agency in the Upper Ohio Valley, and that is one reason why the ongoing process is nearing two weeks in length.
It was an early Thursday morning on Nov. 7, when the victim was struck by a pickup truck near the front of the Warwood Commons. The driver of the truck called 911, and Wheeling Police officers responded to the scene, but a victim could not be located. In a way yet to be determined by accident reenactors, the victim somehow became attached to an SUV while the motorist was navigating around the accident scene.
The victim, 54-year-old Bridgeport, Ohio resident Michelle Lynn Czoka, was not discovered until other motorists signaled for the driver to stop along the Interstate 70 entrance ramp to Washington Avenue in the Clator neighborhood of Wheeling. Funeral services for Czoka took place last Friday at the Wheeler Funeral Home in Brilliant, Ohio. Her obituary stated she was an employee of the Warwood McDonald’s, and that she was born in Steubenville, Ohio.
According to Philip Stahl, the public information officer for both the city’s police and fire departments, the investigators have continued collecting information from all involved. Stahl also confirmed autopsy results have yet to be returned by the staff of the state Medical Examiner’s Office.
“The detectives are still conducting interviews in an effort to gather as much information as they can,” he said. “They also are making attempts to get access to any videos that might be out there in the public, and they are seeking additional witnesses, and that’s always a time-consuming process.
“The detectives are taking their time and collecting as much information as possible,” Stahl added. “They have to do that in every case before wrapping it up and making a final conclusion.”
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