The Canal Winchester community is mourning the loss of 29-year-old Alexa Stakely, a single mother who died Thursday from injuries sustained while trying to save her 6-year-old son from a carjacking.
She worked as a speech-language therapist in the pre-school program at Winchester Trail Elementary and had been with the district for five years. She also worked a second job as a waitress.
Columbus Police say Stakely had finished her shift in the early hours of Thursday, July 11 and drove her 2022 silver Honda SUV to pick up her son from a babysitter at the White Oak Park Condominiums in the 6300 block of Blue Knoll Drive.
Stakely put her sleeping son in the backseat of the car with the engine running, while she returned to grab a forgotten item from the babysitter just inside the door. As Stakely returned to the car, she noticed the vehicle backing into the roadway. Stakely ran out toward the Honda and was heard screaming for her child.
Stakely was struck by the Honda and hit her head on the pavement, according to police. She was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead at 8:43 a.m.
Officers found the Honda, which had been abandoned, a short distance away. Stakely’s child was sleeping inside the vehicle and was not hurt. Witnesses say they saw two males run north, jump over a fence and escape into a neighboring apartment complex.
Stakely received her Master's in Speech-Language Pathology from The Ohio State University, according to her LinkedIn page.
“Alexa was passionate about children and speech-language therapy. She was smart and compassionate, and she cared so much about helping children develop their ability to communicate,” the Canal Winchester School District said in a news release.
“She was a great mom who was incredibly dedicated to her son. Ms. Stakely made a difference in the lives of the students and families she worked with and will be missed by so many in our community and beyond,” the district also said.
Her son is with family, according to the school district.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case, including security or doorbell camera footage from the area, to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-2558 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614- 461-TIPS (8477).
