Suspect in Custody for Fatal Hit and Run

Rudolph Rodriguez

Rudolph Rodriguez lost his life on Tuesday afternoon, following a hit and run incident on Saturday night along the Old Northern Highway.  The sixty-eight-year-old was struck by a Chevy Trailblazer and left for dead.  Despite being transported to the K.H.M.H., Rodriguez succumbed to his injuries.  This morning, News Five spoke with Commissioner of Police Chester Williams who said that a suspect is presently in police custody but that the individual is not cooperating with investigators.  According to ComPol Williams, samples have been taken from the vehicle for DNA testing to determine whether the specimen which appears to be human hair and pieces of human skin belong to Rodriguez.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“From my discussion with Mr. Myers who is in charge of Ladyville, he had briefed me that yes, they did find a vehicle that is suspected to have been involved in the hit and run accident, but the vehicle was found a whole day after the accident occurred and as a result of that, the person whom the police believe was the driver of the vehicle when the accident occurred, the police cannot take a blood or urine sample from that person because it is not per se that he was caught driving the vehicle at the time the accident occurred.  To take a blood or urine sample a day later will not give you anything useful and that’s the reason why there has been no blood or urine sample taken.  The person who is suspected to have been the driver of the vehicle at the time is in police custody and he is not cooperating.  Nonetheless, the vehicle, from what the police observed do have some dents and what appeared to be human hair or pieces of human skin was found in the dents as well as in the cracks on the windshield and so the Scenes of Crime persons have lifted those samples from the vehicle and that will be packaged and we will also be getting during the post mortem, samples for DNA testing.  So what we will be doing, we will be sending what we found on the vehicle along with the sample that we will get from the deceased to the DNA lab for testing to confirm or refute that that was the vehicle that had hit and caused the fatal injuries to the person in question.  So that is where that investigation is.  I have directed Mr. Myers though, to go and see the family and give them a briefing and let me say categorically that the person of interest is of no relation to Minister Castro and I do not know him to be a person of influence.”