Hit and Run Accident Attorneys
Knightdale, NC Hit and Run Accident
KNIGHTDALE - A hit and run that took place Dec. 23 is still under investigation, but the mother of the victim is concerned that police haven't acted quickly enough.
Knightdale Public Safety Director Shawn Brown said the wreck happened about 8:30 a.m. when what is thought to be a small, white Toyota vehicle traveling east on Knightdale Boulevard attempted to turn right onto Hodge Road, but missed the turn because it was traveling too fast to make the turn.Instead, the vehicle crossed the double-yellow line at the light at Hodge and struck a Ford Escape belonging to June Lamb, 37, of Knightdale, who was waiting for the light to turn green to make a left on Knightdale Boulevard. She was headed to Raleigh for work. The impact of the near head-on collision forced Lamb's vehicle into the car behind it, driven by Brent Wood of Clayton.The airbag deployed in Lamb's vehicle, giving her a black eye, but Lamb declined to go to the hospital for medical attention.The wreck totaled Lamb's car, doing $8,100 in damage. The white car became a suspect's car after the driver managed to flee the scene of the accident.Brown said there was a trail of oil leaking from the suspect's vehicle that led south down Hodge Road, but the trail ultimately ended. Brown and two other units patrolled the area in search of the suspect. Brown said the minute the department got the call of the hit-and-run, all surrounding towns' police departments and the State Highway Patrol were notified to be on the lookout for a car matching the description.But after two weeks has passed, still no finger-pointing evidence has been collected."I am researching the incident to see what was done in the investigation to see if there's any follow-ups or leads that we can follow," Brown said Thursday of last week. "The investigating officer went out Tuesday night to see if there were any updates on it."Those follow-ups from last Tuesday included checking the surveillance at the gas station on the corner of Knightdale Boulevard and Hodge Road, and contacting a witness from the scene of the accident.Brown was doubtful the quality of the video from the gas station would provide a clear view of the license plate on the suspect's car, noting even if he watched the tape there wouldn't necessarily be a clear view of the rear end of the car at all - assuming the cameras at the station were on recording to begin with. Nothing on the police report says the suspect's vehicle traveled through the parking lot at the gas station, either.Even though those present at the scene said the car's license plate began with the letters "YYY", Brown said that's not enough."Having the partial plate would help if we actually located a similar vehicle, but having those three letters wouldn't be enough to search the motor vehicles database because there could be any number of combinations that come after the YYY," he said. "To tell the truth, I'm not even sure if it was North Carolina plate or not."Judy Lamb, June's mother, says she has a high amount of respect for public safety officials. Her husband works with the Raleigh Police Department, and a sibling is a firefighter. But Judy Lamb says she doesn't think the incident involving her daughter was properly handled by the police."What gets me is the police officer I talked to several times said he'd go in to check to see if there was surveillance there a week after," Judy Lamb said. "They needed to do more and sooner - it just seems like they drug their feet. I feel like if it had been one of their own, they would've been there Johnny on the spot."Lamb said her daughter chose not to go to the hospital while still shaken up from the whole incident."She's just a single mother trying to do the right thing, and now she has to take the bus to work because someone broke the law and is getting away with it," Judy Lamb said. "That's what tears me up."As of Monday morning, Brown said the police department had reviewed video from the gas station cameras, and even if someone had pulled through the parking lot, it wasn't captured on the cameras."At this point we have no further leads and we are still looking for help from anyone who might have any help from what happened in the accident," Brown said.Brown said the witness at the scene had no additional information to offer police beyond that which she had already given.
