Kelsey Hildal - Maverick MMA 21 - Photo by William McKee
Kelsey Hildal, MMA fighter, shot and killed by police after driving wrong way on interstate
Kelsey Hildal, 34, was shot and killed by police officers on Tuesday night after allegedly driving the wrong way on the interstate and later displaying a handgun.
The Clermont County coroner identified Hildal, an amateur mixed martial artist with a record of 7-7, after the incident unfolded in Union Township, Ohio.
At 10:53 p.m., officers were dispatched after receiving several calls of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 275.
About 20 minutes later, a trooper located a Ford Escape driving northbound on the shoulder of the southbound lanes. Investigators said a trooper intentionally crashed his cruiser into the SUV, bringing it to a stop against the concrete median barrier.
Investigators said the driver displayed a gun and that is when Hildal was shot.
The incident was captured on film by a man on his way to work and reported to WLWT News.
Woman shot, killed by police after driving the wrong way on I-275 | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/T81GX0gd33
— WLWT (@WLWT) April 3, 2025
Police tried to save the woman, but she died at the scene.
A trooper sustained a minor injury unrelated to the shooting.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating. A spokesperson would not say if it was a state trooper or a Union Township officer who fired their weapon. Both were on scene.
In her last MMA bout, Hildal was defeated by Janii Rosario at Maverick MMA 21 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The two women were competing for the promotion’s 115-lb. title in the amateur division.
