It was the kind of night where everything goes wrong at once, leaving a family in Brooklyn shattered and a community in shock. Hua Zheng, a 44-year-old man who called New York home, was just trying to get through a bad situation on a cold Friday morning in Ohio. Instead, a series of events on a dark stretch of Interstate 71 ended in a tragedy that has investigators pleading for the public’s help to find a driver who simply kept going.
The trouble started around 1:40 a.m. in Morrow County. Zheng had already been through enough; he was involved in a minor two-vehicle collision between exits 140 and 151 in Harmony Township. Like any responsible driver, he pulled over to the left shoulder to handle the aftermath. But as he stood outside his car, vulnerable against the backdrop of high-speed traffic, the unthinkable happened. A passing vehicle drifted toward the shoulder, striking Zheng with enough force to kill him instantly.
When troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol arrived on the scene, they didn’t find a driver waiting to explain what happened. They found Zheng’s body lying on the shoulder and a trail of debris. The person who hit him had vanished into the night, leaving the 44-year-old behind in the dark. It’s a detail that has cut deep for those who knew him—the idea that someone could cause such a catastrophic impact and not even stop to check if he was okay.
Emergency responders from Morrow County EMS and the Big Walnut Joint Fire District were on the scene quickly, but there was nothing they could do. Zheng was pronounced dead right there on the interstate. Now, the quiet of Harmony Township has been replaced by an urgent, multi-agency investigation involving the local Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office, all searching for a ghost in a damaged car.
Investigators believe they know what they’re looking for: a Chevrolet. Based on the parts left at the scene, the suspect’s vehicle likely has significant front-end damage. Troopers are scouring local repair shops and checking surveillance footage, hoping to find that specific Chevy before it can be hidden or fixed. They are urging anyone who was on I-71 early Friday morning to think back—did you see a car driving erratically, or perhaps a vehicle with a smashed headlight or crumpled hood?
Back in Brooklyn, the news has been devastating. Zheng is remembered by friends and family as a “valued individual,” a man whose life was full of potential and suddenly stolen. The grief is compounded by the lack of closure. For his loved ones, the tragedy isn’t just the accident itself, but the cold reality that a driver is still out there, moving on with their life while Zheng’s family prepares for a funeral.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol isn’t letting this go. They’ve made it clear that every tip matters. If you know anything about a damaged Chevrolet or saw something unusual near the Mount Gilead area that morning, you’re asked to call the post at (740) 363-1392. For a family waiting for answers in New York, that one phone call could be the difference between a cold case and the justice Hua Zheng deserves.
