Leaving Donna Holliday Clark

Just before 11pm on June 26, 2015 Donna Holiday Clark was riding south on her bicycle on Ritchie Road in Capital Heights. At the same time a driver heading south on Ritchie Road was passed by a black Dodge Charger and another dark car travelling at very high speed. In the witness' opinion the two were racing. Camera footage from a nearby business confirmed that they were travelling much faster than the witness. The two cars disappeared over the hill before Edgeworth. Shortly after, the driver found Clark, lying in the roadway with her purple Kent Avalon bicycle - where the driver who killed her had left her.  Her shoes had been knocked into the opposing lane. The witness called 911 and tried to render aid, but Clark died before making it to the hospital. 

Clark was a fitness fanatic but she was riding home that night from work because she couldn't rely on transit since the closest Metro station was 3 miles away. 

A little over a week later a tip led the police to a car in South District Heights, Maryland that met the description of the striking car. They found a grey Honda accord with freshly repaired front end damage.

While inspecting the vehicle, Dion James Hancock came out of the home the car was parked in front of. The police asked if he knew who the car was owned by and Hancock said it belonged to his recently-deceased father.  Police asked him if he knew how it had been damaged and Hancock said an ex-girlfriend damaged it. When asked about his whereabouts on the night Clark died, Hancock said he was at his new girlfriend's home and that he had gotten home at around 2am after calling a Lyft. The police then asked him if he or someone else could have struck a cyclist with the car.

Hancock didn't answer, but instead asked what the penalties were for having an accident and not reporting it. The police explained the penalties and then read him his Miranda rights, which he invoked. 

Following the acquisition of a subpoena, the police determined that Hancock didn't have an account with Lyft, or take his first ride with them, until June 28th. The name and phone number of the new girlfriend he gave them were checked against several data bases and no one with her name could be located. The phone number revealed no one by that name that had ever owned or used it. 

Without enough evidence to determine the identity of the driver, this case remains open.  There are also no records of a civil case. 

Comments

[Riley]

It is in our reach to connect the substantial electronic control of modern motor vehicles to the pervasive mapping technology and arrive at cars and trucks that can not exceed the local speed limit where ever there is cell coverage or mapped roadways. Its not pie in the sky autonomous vehicles its simply passing a few laws and getting vendors to talk to each other. It could happen with next years car models. No more high speed police chases, far fewer cars crashing thru living room windows, far fewer deaths from all crashes at much lower speeds. All it needs is our votes.

[ACyclistInThePortCIty]

Mr Hancock still drives among us.

[Kyle S]

And he holds a Secret clearance.

[Jeffb]

This account matches the advice I hear from attorneys after the 3rd beer. If you hit and f’ somebody up keep on going. So long as police can’t put you behind the wheel reasonable doubt exists.