“Hit-and-Run Charges: 79-Year-Old Driver Admits Guilt in Lakewood Business Owner’s Death”
Gus Blavos, a 79-year-old man facing hit-and-run charges in connection with the fatal incident involving Lakewood business owner Cassandra Fear last year, changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his scheduled trial.
Court records reveal that Blavos pleaded guilty to a felony charge of stopping after an accident and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer O’Donnell sentenced him to 18 months of probation for each count and suspended his driver’s license until December 16, 2028.
Case Details
The Cleveland Division of Police reported that the incident occurred on December 16, 2023, at around 9 p.m. in the 3700 block of West 130th Street. Cassandra Fear, 41, was struck by another vehicle after exiting her own car, which had collided with a parked vehicle. Emergency Medical Services pronounced her dead at the scene.
Last year, 3News featured Fear in a story about the closure of her business, “Fear’s Confections,” in Lakewood. In February of this year, Blavos was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on the felony charge of failure to stop after an accident, in addition to the misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide.
