Selma driver wanted in hit and run
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on October 18, 2007 2:07 PM
PRINCETON -- A Selma man is wanted in the hit-and- run death of a Rosewood woman, Princeton police Chief Ed Lewis said today.
Vela Marcelo Mendoza of North Pollock Street is wanted for questioning after a passenger in the van that hit Dayna Brooke Wiggs, 25, and her boyfriend Sunday night came forward Wednesday, Lewis said.
Miss Wiggs, 25, of Rosewood Road, died Tuesday at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill from injuries she sustained in the accident that happened about 7:20 p.m. near the intersection of U.S. 70 and Edwards Road.
Lewis said he is not releasing the name of the passenger, who was riding with Mendoza and one other family member when the accident occurred.
The witness's statements were "consistent with evidence that I have collected. I'm in a heck of a lot better shape today than I was yesterday," the chief said.
The passenger in the van told Lewis that the driver of the van pulled over to the side of the road after the accident and asked the passenger what he should do, the chief said.
Lewis said the passenger reported telling Mendoza to go back to the scene of the accident, but Mendoza disagreed.
The chief said he was trying to obtain a photo of Mendoza from a prior arrest and hoped to be able to release it soon.
"I told family members I have finally got my hands on somebody that is cooperating with me," Lewis said. "That made things just a little bit easier for them."