Driver Arrested, Charged In January 2018 Hit-And-Run That Left Man Dead
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) -- A suspect has been arrested and charged in a deadly hit-and-run that had gone unsolved since January of last year.
Illinois State Police on Tuesday arrested Carrifthian N. Lester, 38, of Calumet City, in connection with the crash that happened on Jan.8, 2019. Lester was charged with failure to report an accident involving personal injury or death, and failure to stop after having an accident involving personal injury or death – both felonies.
Aaron Scofield was killed at 4 a.m. that morning in the crash off on Interstate 80 near Interstate 355.
His mother and stepfather, Jim and Linda Brodnicki, said Scofield was on his way home from his overnight work shift when a semi-trailer truck likely sideswiped his car, disabling it and leaving him stuck in the middle of the highway.
The truck driver never stopped. A second car then hit Scofield's car, likely as he was trying to get to safety.
In May 2018, Illinois State Police were brought in to investigate the circumstances of the crashes and identified Lester as the offending driver. State police did not specify whether Lester was driving the truck.
The Will County State's Attorney's office approved charges against Lester on Thursday, Aug. 14, six days before he was taken into custody. Lester was taken to the Will County Jail and is awaiting a $150,000 bond hearing.