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Police Release Details In Fatal Shadyside Crash

Nearly two months after a tragic motorcycle crash claimed the life of a local teenager, police released the names Saturday of other people involved and said that charges are soon to come.

Devron Lunsford, 16, died in early August from injuries suffered in the crash.

Investigating Shadyside officer, Dan Napolitano, told NEWS9 that 21-year-old Lauren Decker, of Wheeling, is the woman who was driving the motorcycle Lunsford was on during the crash.

Police said they do not believe Lunsford knew Decker well. And officers told NEWS9 it appears as though the crash may have been the result of a joyride gone bad.

Also involved in the crash, police said, were 19-year-old Tabitha Bozenske, of Jacobsburg, Ohio, and 19-year-old Stefanie Balinco, of Shadyside. Officers said Bozenske and Balinco were the two women in the Pontiac Grand Prix that the bike crashed into near the corner of Central Avenue and 48th Street in town.

Before charges come out against at least one of the people involved, police said the Ohio State Highway Patrol must first finalize a reconstruction of what happened.

"A small police department like Shadyside isn't really equipped. We're underfunded for that type of thing and we don't have the resources available. So, the state helped us out on this one," Napolitano said.

Napolitano claimed the trooper out of Cambridge handling the reconstruction has forwarded the paperwork along to Columbus for approval. It's after the reconstruction is returned to Shadyside that police said they will be able to release the final crash report, including charges.

"We're fully aware of how sensitive of an issue this is. We've been dealing with parents, the community, lawyers, and everyone you can imagine over this," Napolitano added.

Police told NEWS9 they believe the final report and charges will be ready by next week.

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