A 64-year-old Richmond man has been identified as the pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run along Route 1 in Ashland, with the crash under investigation. James Joseph Billings was found unresponsive around 12:20 a.m. Monday, November 9, near Frontage Road along the southbound side of the 12100 block of Washington Highway, suffering injuries consistent with being struck by a motor vehicle.
According to WTVR CBS 6 News, Ashland police officers discovered Billings and Hanover County Fire and EMS pronounced him deceased at the scene. Investigators believe he was struck sometime after 7 p.m. the previous evening, Sunday, November 8.
The crash remains an active investigation, and police have not announced an arrest or a description of the vehicle involved. The Ashland Police Department is asking anyone with information to call (804) 365-6140 or submit a tip through ashlandpolice.us, and tipsters may remain anonymous.
A Prior Ashland Pedestrian Hit-and-Run
A previous Ashland pedestrian hit-and-run left a man injured. In that case, a pickup truck swerved and struck a 44-year-old man with its passenger-side mirror before continuing north without stopping, according to WRIC; that pedestrian was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Another Ashland crash near the intersection of Route 1 and Ashcake Road left a pedestrian injured after the driver fled before police arrived, the station's report on that incident states. Police later filed aggravated malicious wounding and felony hit-and-run charges against Alesha McNair, 34, of Richmond, who was arrested and held at Pamunkey Regional Jail without bond.
A separate fatal hit-and-run near the TA truck stop in Ashland left investigators searching for a newer-model Freightliner tractor-trailer that may have had a red decal on its cab, per the same account. That crash happened just before 9:50 p.m. on a Friday, and the driver has not been identified publicly.
Similar Cases Beyond Hanover County
The pattern isn't confined to Ashland. Virginia State Police were seeking a driver after a fatal hit-and-run on Route 1 in Dinwiddie, where 75-year-old Linwood Earl Williams was struck by an unknown vehicle traveling northbound, according to 12 On Your Side. That crash occurred at 8:50 p.m. in the 6500 block of Boydton Plank Road near the Aldi Distribution Center, and police said they had no description of the vehicle while an investigation into potential alcohol involvement continued.
No arrest has been announced in Billings' death, and investigators have not released any description of a suspect vehicle. Anyone with information about the crash that killed him is urged to come forward to Ashland police as the search for answers continues.
