No charges filed against hit-and-run driver yet
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 4, 2013 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The state Highway Patrol has located the vehicle and identified the driver responsible for Friday's fatal hit-and run-accident in Duplin County.
A 21-month-old boy, Ismael Aleman, was in the roadway when he was struck and killed.
Sgt. W. L. Thurston of the Highway Patrol in Duplin County said no charges have been brought against the driver and therefore his name has not yet been released.
"Some leads were developed Monday that led investigators to the vehicle and then to the driver, but that investigation is ongoing," Thurston said.
The accident occurred just after 6 p.m., while it was still daylight, in front of a residence on Garner's Chapel Road.
The child was playing with other children in the front yard of the home when he wandered into the roadway and was hit.
There was no evidence that the driver of the vehicle made any attempt to stop. He continued on toward Mount Olive.
Investigators with the Highway Patrol will meet with the Duplin County District Attorney and determine what charges, if any, will be brought against the driver. His identity will subsequently be released to the public.
The Duplin County Sheriff's Department is in the meantime working with the Department of Social Services to investigate the circumstances that led to the child being in the roadway in the first place.
No one has been charged in connection with that aspect of the accident, Thurston added.