Memorial for hit-and-run victim Johnny Lee Butts
An ongoing collection of unsolved hit-and-run cases, with a focus on car/pedestrian incidents, from across the country since Jan. ‘010. If you know something about any of these incidents, or one that I’ve missed, do the right thing and call the police, even anonymously.
3400. Robbinsville, NJ. Jan. 27. 40-year-old man struck and killed by a metallic-blue vehicle which fled the scene.
3401-02. Chicago, Ill. Jan. 27. 39-year-old man and 34-year-old woman fatally struck by a Nissan Quest or minivan which fled the scene.
3403. Clifton, NJ. Jan. 27. Bicyclist struck and killed by a white Toyota Camry which fled the scene.
3404. Raleigh, NC. Jan. 28. Unidentified pedestrian injured when struck by a vehicle which fled the scene (but may have been located shortly thereafter).
3405. Houston, Texas. Jan. 27. Man in his late 20s struck and killed by two vehicles which fled the scene.
3406. Miami Beach, Fla. Jan. 28. Man struck and killed by a which fled the scene but a witness followed to a nearby apartment complex, leading police to arrest the alleged driver.
Related stories:
And I quote (I)…
Gloria Mastell and Roger Wurr fell in love two decades ago, and this routine began soon after.
Around sunset on Friday, authorities say, a drunken 21-year-old named Timothy Michael Deacon was driving a black 2006 Ford F-250 pickup truck south on Coffee Pot. As he approached a bend in the road, he lost control, then overcorrected. The pickup hopped the curb and crushed a utility box. The tires tore grass from its roots. The three tons of metal didn’t stop.
At that moment, Mastell and Wurr were on one of their walks. The pickup, police say, slammed into them with such force that she was launched into the water. Wurr, who is 71, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center with severe injuries. Mastell died at the scene. She was 67.
The pickup, according to authorities, sped away. But someone spotted the tag number.
And I quote (II)…
VISTA — More than five years after a Valley Center woman fatally struck a teenager in Escondido then hid her involvement for two years, trial is set to begin this week in the civil suit the teen’s mother brought against the motorist.
The lawsuit stems from the death of Marlene Resendiz, 17, who was killed while crossing Grand Avenue at Fairdale Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. Nov. 24, 2007.
Resendiz landed on the hood of the car. The driver, identified two years later as Tiffany St. Ives, continued for more than 400 feet before the girl rolled off. The car did not stop.
St. Ives eventually pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a deadly crash, and spent seven months in jail.
Before the criminal case ended, Resendiz’s mother, Teresa Cuevas, sued St. Ives for wrongful death.
And I quote (III)…
Johnny Lee Butts, a farmer, grandfather and Sunday School teacher, survived a wreck involving a train and then colon cancer. But, six years later, he would not survive his daily morning walk along a rural road near his home in Panola County.
A white teenager, Matthew Whitten “Whit” Darby, 18, has been charged with murder in the July 22 hit-and-run death of Butts, 61.
The Mississippi NAACP called on state and federal authorities in August to investigate the case as a possible hate crime.
And I quote (IV)…
A Sacramento police officer spotted a vehicle he remembered from a week-old hit-and-run case, leading to the arrest of the driver Saturday night.
From the International Files…
And I quote (V)…
A couple who were killed in an alleged hit and run while riding a tandem were today described as ‘two peas in a pod’ who were never apart and would do anything for anyone.
Pictured on their wedding day 18-months-ago, Ross Simons, 34, and his wife Clare, 30, were mowed down by a car which was being followed by police.
The pair, described by friends as lovely and caring, were said to be trying for a baby and had ‘everything to live for’.
Police said a car struck and killed the two cyclists before the driver fled the scene of the crash in Bristol yesterday.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … Murrieta, Cal.; Missoula, Mont.; Upshur Co., Texas; Coral Gables, Fla.; Alamo, Texas;
More hit-and-run stories, including every volume of Hit-and-Run America (in reverse order), are accessible from this linked page. (The full Volume-by-Volume list will appear sporadically from now on.)