TROOPERS SEARCH FOR HIT AND RUN DRIVER WHO KILLED CARROLL CO. MAN

(Westminster, MD) -- Maryland State Police are searching for the driver and vehicle that struck and killed a Carroll County man whose body was found today along Rt. 97 near his home.

The victim is identified as James O. Robinette Jr., 40, of the 2000-block of Littlestown Pike, Westminster, Md. He was pronounced dead at the scene, which is near the home where he lived with a relative.

Evidence left at the scene indicates the suspect vehicle is possibly a 1996 or 1997 Saturn S-1 series four-door sedan or station wagon. The vehicle is forest green with gold pin stripes.

The vehicle involved should have extensive front end damage and is likely missing a major portion of a front fender. The vehicle is also missing an external rearview mirror.

Just before 3:00 p.m. today, Maryland State Police at the Westminster Barracks were called by a man who was jogging south along the northbound shoulder of Rt. 97, north of Bachman Valley Road. The man observed damaged car parts along the roadside and then saw the victim’s body on the other side of the guardrail. He called police immediately.

Based on the position of the victim and the damaged car parts at the scene, troopers quickly identified this as a hit and run fatality. The Maryland State Police CRASH Team responded and is conducting the investigation with the assistance of road troopers and criminal investigators from the Westminster Barracks, as well as crime scene technicians from the Forensic Sciences Division.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim was last seen alive by a female acquaintance at his home about 3:30 a.m. yesterday. Although he had not been seen since, he had not been reported missing to police and there was no prior report of a traffic crash in this area that police responded to.

State Police investigators believe the victim was struck by a vehicle that was northbound on Rt. 97, possibly in the early morning hours of June 20th. Troopers collected evidence left at the scene and took the car parts to an area Saturn dealer. Experts at the dealership identified the parts as being from the vehicle described above.

Troopers have issued a lookout for the vehicle to police in Maryland and in Pennsylvania. Anyone with information about the suspect vehicle and/or driver is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the Westminster Barracks at 410-386-3000, ext. 0. Calls may be kept confidential.