Driver hit pedestrian, then died by suicide

Dump truck struck man while crossing the street, witnesses say

JAMES CITY COUNTY — A man driving a dump truck he was hired to repair hit a pedestrian Friday in James City County, and then died by suicide. The incident happened at 7:19 p.m. in the 8700 block of Pocahontas Trail, police said in a news release. Witnesses said a 31-yearold man was exiting a Williamsburg Area Transit Authority bus, trying to cross the street near the Dollar General Store when he was hit by a passing dump truck. According to police, after hitting the victim, the truck turned onto the entrance road to Country Village Mobile Home Park and stopped.

The driver then got out of the truck, looked back in the victim’s direction, got back into the truck and drove away, the release stated.

The victim, a James City County man, was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News with “serious trauma to both legs.” Police said his injuries are non-life threatening.

Based on their preliminary investigation, police said it was a Coastal Outdoor Concepts, LLC dump truck from Cape Carteret, North Carolina, that hit the man. The driver was a 57-year-old man from James City County, hired by the company to do repairs on the truck.

Police said the man had the truck for a few months, and after the crash, drove the truck to a repair shop in Gates County, North Carolina, for previously scheduled repairs.

The Gates County Sheriff ’s Office said the driver died by suicide behind the shop on Feb. 27.

The crash is still under investigation, police said.