By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DELHI TOWNSHIP - An 8-year-old girl will say goodbye to her father today, and her family wants help showing her his death is not her fault.

Erica Wilson's dad, Tim, died Sunday night after he collapsed in their street while chasing a teenager suspected of stealing the red motorized scooter she got for her birthday.

Preliminary results from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office indicate the 39-year-old father of four, who was an avid softball and football player, died of a heart attack.

Investigators don't know if a crime was committed but want to talk to the teen, said Lt. John Coletta.

"We just want to talk to him. We want to talk to as many people as possible."

Sunday was the last night of the annual St. Dominic church festival and a lot of people were out along Delhi Pike.

Wilson, who lived with his family on Delhi Pike, mentioned to his brother-in-law, Tony Holguin, that somebody took the scooter from the driveway next door. Holguin decided to drive around to see if he could see anyone on it.

He stopped a teenager on a red scooter nearby and called his brother-in-law. When Wilson identified the scooter as Erica's because of some scratches on its underside, the teen dropped the scooter and ran.

Wilson started to chase the teen, with Holguin following. But the pursuit ended when Wilson collapsed. Holguin first thought his brother-in-law slipped on the rain-slicked pavement.

But then he realized Wilson wasn't moving. Authorities rushed Wilson to University Hospital, where he died.

Within hours, the shocked family went from looking for a missing scooter to donating Wilson's organs and planning his wake, funeral and cremation.

Now, they want the full story out in hopes that someone might turn in the teenager. Police are working on a sketch.

They also are working to convince Erica she is not to blame:

"She thinks it's her fault," Holguin said.

The Wilsons moved into their house a month ago. Wilson had recently gotten a job as a truck driver.

The family moved to Cincinnati about seven years ago from New York City. They wanted a safer place to raise their kids.

The funeral service is 10 a.m. today at St. Dominic Church, 4551 Delhi Road.

E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com