A 19-year-old man is dead and a 12-year-old was injured after a car struck them overnight in Chesterfield County, and police say they're now investigating the man's death as suspicious. The crash happened just after 1:50 a.m. in the 8800 block of Chester Forest Lane, following what authorities described only as a disturbance in the area.
According to WRIC ABC 8News, Chesterfield County police reported that the man and the child were struck by a vehicle after that disturbance. Both were rushed to a local hospital, where the man later died. The child's injuries were described by police as non-life-threatening.
Officers Had Already Left the Scene
Police had responded to the area earlier for a disturbance call, but officers were no longer on scene by the time the car struck the two, per a report from WTVR. That timeline gap, officers on hand and then gone before the crash, is part of what investigators are now trying to piece together alongside the circumstances that led up to the strike.
The station's report also noted that Virginia Statewide Incidents had indicated a Halloween party with a number of teenagers was underway in the area at the time of the crash. That detail has not been independently confirmed beyond that attribution.
Death Called Suspicious, No Threat to Public Seen
Chesterfield police are calling the man's death suspicious as they continue investigating what led to the crash. Despite that designation, police said they do not believe there is any ongoing danger to the public, according to the same account.
The exact sequence of events, including what sparked the earlier disturbance and how the two came to be in the path of the vehicle, remains under investigation per police. No information about the driver or the vehicle involved has been released.
Anyone with information is asked to call Chesterfield Police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
