Fatal hit-skip vehicle remains mystery 3 years after incident
More than three years have passed since 57-year-old Phillippe Schlagetter was struck and killed while crossing a street in Whitehall.
The driver who struck him and fled the scene remains unidentified.
Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the case.
According to Whitehall police, Schlagetter of the East Side was crossing the intersection of East Main Street and Shady Lane Road around 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2018, when he was struck by a vehicle.
Police said the vehicle, possibly an SUV in a shade of red, was traveling west on East Main Street and turning south on Shady Lane Road when it struck Schlagetter. The vehicle fled south without stopping after striking him.
Schlagetter died at the scene, police said.
Surveillance footage from the area shows there was a witness driving directly behind the suspect vehicle who saw the crash and stopped in front of Schlagetter before continuing on their way.
Whitehall Deputy Chief Dan Kelso said that driver has a moral obligation to come forward with information.
“This individual has legal obligation to come forward to police and report exactly what he or she saw,” Kelso said. “How would they feel if this was their family member and a witness did or said nothing?”
Anyone with information is asked to call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614461-TIPS, use the free P3 Tips mobile application to provide information or submit a tip online at www.stopcrime.org.
All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and a special coding system is used to deliver a reward if the information leads to an arrest. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner