A mother hit so hard in a crosswalk she landed on the other side of a Charlotte intersection, the driver continuing to speed on his way, is a case which has haunted police for decades. However, DNA evidence collected in 1989 have helped confirm who was behind the wheel of the vehicle, that man finally answering for his crime.
Car thief arrested after a rooftop chase.
It was late December on an afternoon when Ruth Buchanan, aged 52, decided to go shopping in downtown with a friend. It was a trip she would never survive. The dark-colored car which hit her was later found abandoned, having been stolen.
That meant police had no idea who had mowed down the mother and left her for dead in the street. Little did they know at the time what was believed to be the remnants of a marijuana joint left in the stolen car, collected as evidence, would later reveal who was responsible for the hideous crime, thanks to DNA left behind.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police recently announced they not only cracked the case, 68-year-old Herbert Stanback confessed when presented with the evidence. He was charged last month with felony hit-and-run.
Stanback is a known quantity to the North Carolina justice system. He’s present in prison for another, unrelated crime, serving out a 22 year sentence. Thanks to his confession, another two years were tacked on.
You might be thinking a couple of years for someone’s life seems slightly uneven. We feel the same, but apparently that’s what prosecutors could do with the law as it’s written in North Carolina.
What’s cool about this case is its was an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip which got the investigation rolling again. Someone’s conscience wouldn’t allow them to just sit on information about who killed Buchanan until justice was ultimately served.
Images via Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police/YouTube
Follow The Auto Wire on Google News.
+ There are no comments
Add yours