CLEVELAND — Vance Christian, the man who was arrested for a deadly hit-and-run that killed a 3-year-old girl while she was riding a bike in Cleveland last week, made his first court appearance in the case Monday morning.
During the brief hearing in Cleveland Municipal Court, bond was set at $400,000 as Christian waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
The state, however, had requested a higher bond of $500,000.
Christian faces several charges connected to the incident, including aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault.
RELATED: 3-year-old girl dies after struck by vehicle while riding bike in Cleveland; suspect in custody
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous story on July 22, 2022.
Officers responded to the situation at Track Road and Lufkin Avenue around 10:08 p.m. Thursday where “the front end of the suspect vehicle collided with all three bicycles.”
Police say the bicyclists were riding southbound on Track Road in the traffic lane approaching Lufkin Avenue when they were struck by the suspect vehicle, which was traveling northbound on Track Road from Lufkin.
All three bicyclists were taken to a Cleveland hospital, where the 3-year-old girl was pronounced dead. She has since been identified as Izzy Hudspath, a Cleveland resident.
Police say the two others – ages 10 and 27 – suffered minor injuries. Preliminary information from officials had indicated that the suspect vehicle was possibly a gold Cadillac Escalade.
Christian, who police say fled the scene, was arrested Friday.
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