The Ohio State Highway Patrol is looking for information on a fatal hit-skip accident in Grove City.
Troopers reported that on May 18 at 1:49 a.m., 35-year-old Matthew Shilling was hit and killed by a driver on northbound Interstate 71, just south of the U.S. Highway 62 exit.
Shilling was an Orient resident and worked at Eitel’s Towing, located just south of Grove City. Eitel’s Towing owner Stacy Wills said Shilling had worked for the company for about three and a half years.
On the morning of the accident, Shilling was called to tow a vehicle in the area.
"The Highway Patrol called us and told us our driver had been hit," Wills recalled.
Wills said his family has been in the towing business for 48 years and "nothing like this has ever happened before." He said the staff at Eitel’s Towing has pulled together to help one another through the tragedy.
"Matt was definitely an asset to the community and the towing industry," said Wills.
Under current law, highway drivers have to slow down or move to another lane when an emergency vehicle is on the shoulder. A Senate bill is now under review to include in that law any vehicle with flashing lights, including tow trucks.
State troopers do not have any clues at this time. They are asking that anyone who may have witnessed the crash, or who has any information regarding the accident, to contact the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Circleville Post at 740-983-2538.
"I ask the person responsible to please come forward so Matt’s family and friends can have closure," said Wills. "Just fess up."
Shilling leaves behind a son, Cody, and fiancee, Lisa Rapp. His parents, Ron and Shirley Shilling, live in Grove City.
