New food truck to bear special name

NORWALK — The mother of a 3-year-old girl who was killed in a hit-and-run accident is honoring the child's memory by opening her own food truck and naming it after her. Cassondra Dixon will open Lovejoy on Wheels on Oct. 24. She and her family used a utility trailer to form the foundation for the food truck Dixon will operate from. Dixon said she is going to start with the staples and experiment with the menu until she gets an idea of what people would like her to serve. "We're going to start out with tacos and french fries," Cassandra said. "We could try hot dogs, hamburgers and fried sweets later on." The food truck's name holds a special meaning because Dixon named it after her daughter, Melanie Joy Lopez, so that she could always be with the family. "It was originally going to have a different name, but I decided to change it to Lovejoy on Wheels because love is for Melanie. She was all about love and happiness and always had a smile on her face, and joy because that was her middle name." Dixon says it is fitting because Melanie loved working with her. Dixon took gig jobs, like Doordash and Instacart, while Melanie was alive so she could take her to work with her. "I was doing Instacart because it was a job where my kids were allowed to go with me on and she loved it," Dixon said. "She loved helping me get the groceries. She loved dropping them off to people and telling them, 'here's your groceries' and she'd say'have a nice day' — she loved it." Melanie was killed on July 21, 2020, when a then unidentified motorist drove through the Norwalk Mobile Home Park on Jefferson Street and struck Lopez, who was playing outside, before leaving the scene. The Huron County grand jury on July 15 indicted Barbara K. Biller, of Norwalk, on four criminal charges for her alleged role in the hit-and-run that claimed the life of the 3-year-old child. The Dixon and Lopez families of Norwalk have staged demonstrations in support of justice for Melanie in front of the court house before each court event in the Biller case. Most recently, on Sept. 20, the families met outside the Huron County Common Pleas Court before and after a hearing in the Biller case. During the hearing judge James Conway set another hearing for 9 a.m. Nov. 8. "We just want to get justice for Melanie," Dixon said. "We want Barbara Biller to be punished for what she did. She knew she did and didn't even bother stopping and if she had stopped and called for help right away, maybe my baby would still be alive today." In 2020, evidence related to the case was sent to the FBI for testing. Former Norwalk police Chief Mike Conney told the Reflector in 2021 the Norwalk Police Department initially sent the evidence to be tested by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. "We did send it to BCI first, but their tests were inconclusive, and there were other tests that could be run," he said at the time. "It was transferred to Quantico to the FBI." Conney had said there are no federal charges related to the case. In July 2021, Norwalk Det. Sgt. Dave Daniels said the vehicle and driver involved had both been identified. Conney had said that police were confident that they had the right vehicle that was involved in the hit and run, but the DNA test would "just confirm that." "We're very confident that's the vehicle based on the video evidence and the statements of the driver and the passengers," he said.