Resident finds man struck and killed by car along highway

UPDATE 9/15/2021 @ 5:13 p.m.

BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Larry Dotson woke up to get a drink of water early Wednesday morning when he thought he heard a deer or a driver hit the rock wall by his home.

“I grabbed my phone and the flashlight and walked out there, and it was that young man laying there in the middle of the road, and I know then he had been hit with a car,” Dotson said.

Dotson said he could not see any cars around along state Route 17 near the community of Spruce, but he knew the man who died.

“You’d see him everyday walking up and down through here,” Dotson said.

Dotson called for help. Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker said they are asking anyone with information to come forward.

“We aren’t saying that there was any malicious intent in the striking of the pedestrian. We are just saying the person passed away, so it’s very important that we find the driver,” Barker said.

The road is narrow and Christopher Bryant, who lives up the road, said he fears for people who walk that stretch.

“Right here, local but all the way to Madison, which is about a 12-mile drive, a lot of foot traffic and pedestrian traffic and lots of times it’s on the white line. The curves are bad enough, but pedestrians -- it always frightens me,” Bryant said. “It’s fearful, knowing that there is someone that clearly knows what went on, and hopefully their better judgement will take control.”

Deputies say the man who died was in his 30s. They said they cannot release his name yet.

Deputies are looking for a compact car. They tell WSAZ is could be a Chevy Cruze with the mirror of the passenger side torn off.

ORIGINAL STORY 9/15/2021

BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a vehicle involved in a deadly hit-and-run.

Deputies say it happened around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Ottawa area.

According to deputies, the vehicle was last seen driving north on Rt. 17. The vehicle could possibly be a 2011-2015 Chevrolet Cruze.

Investigators say the vehicle is missing the cover from the passenger side mirror.

The victim’s name has not been released.

If you have any information about the incident, you are asked to call 304-369-9913. You can remain anonymous.

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