WCPO-TV’s chief executive reacted to a viral video late Friday afternoon involving the family of meteorologist Steve Raleigh.
The video, which had been circulating on social media this week, shows two elderly people injured on the ground at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse parking lot following a verbal confrontation with Raleigh’s family.
WCPO-TV posted this statement from Jeff Brogan, Channel 9 vice president and general manager, on its Facebook page at 5:30 p.m.:
“We are aware of the incident involving Steve Raleigh’s family. It is still under investigation, and at this time no charges have been filed against anyone. Steve shared his side of the incident with our leadership. His account is consistent with the police report, which does not name him, and with what we have reviewed on video. The video does not show the incident from start to finish. We will continue to monitor official findings.”
In less than two hours, the post had more than 1,000 comments and 180 shares.
By Friday evening, Raleigh had deleted all of his social media accounts.
The video was shot Saturday June 22. Raleigh and his wife Julie – daughter of retired Hamilton County sheriff/judge/prosecutor Simon Leis Jr. – are seen in the video after an incident in the parking lot. The woman filming on her phone says, “Call 911,” after it shows that the elderly woman on the ground was bleeding from the head.
In reports obtained by WVXU Saturday, Cincinnati police identified the driver as Carter Raleigh, 28. He is the son of Steve and Julie Raleigh, and the grandson of Leis. Carter was driving a 2013 Cadillac Escalade owned by Leis.
The 28-year-old was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol when he failed to yield to oncoming traffic and struck a pickup truck driven by a 79-year-old man in the Montgomery Inn Boathouse parking lot, which started the confrontation, the reports say.
The incident report is heavily redacted. WVXU obtained Carter’s name through the traffic report.
The incident report states that the driver of the Ford F-150 pick-up truck, and his 76-year-old wife, both of Covington, were transported to UC Medical Center by ambulance with injuries. A viral video on Facebook earlier this week showed an elderly man and woman on the ground, with the woman bleeding from the head, during a shouting match.
It further states that the “suspect approached Victim #1 striking him with a closed fist in the head knocking him to the ground causing listed injuries. Victim #2 and Victim #3 while attempting to aid Victim #1 was struck and shoved to the ground by the suspect causing listed injuries.”
No charges have been filed in the incident from three weeks ago. It remains under investigation.
On Saturday, Cincinnati native and former Boston Red Sox player Kevin Youkilis posted on Facebook confirming that he appears in the video showing people screaming at each other as the elderly couple laid on the pavement. He said he got involved because he saw “a group of people jawing at each other in the parking lot,” including some in Red Sox gear, and he tried to diffuse the situation.
“Unfortunately I was a little too late and saw a horrible chain of events unfold. My intention after what I witnessed was to help the two individuals on the ground and to protect anyone else from being harmed,” said Youkilis, a Red Sox TV broadcaster. He said he ate dinner at the Boathouse with his agent and “did not know” the people involved with the parking lot incident.
Hired as chief meteorologist in July 2005, Raleigh was absent from Channel 9’s early evening newscasts, with Cameron Hardin filling in. But Raleigh did the weather at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Raleigh and wife are active in fund-raising for nonprofits throughout Greater Cincinnati. Their pet project is Madi’s House in Mount Airy, established after the death of their daughter Madison in 2019. They have three other children: Carter, Kyle and Chelsea.
