DUNBAR, W.Va. — An elderly Kanawha County man is dead after he was struck by two vehicles as he walked across the road to attend Wednesday night services as his church.
Richard Pitchford, 86, of Dunbar, died at shortly before 7 p.m. as he attempted to cross Roxalana Road in Dunbar, Dunbar Police Department Captain Matt Arthur said.
“There’s a parking lot for the church across the street and he was with his wife. I don’t believe she was in the roadway, she had already crossed the road and he started to cross the road and that’s when it happened there in front of the church,” Arthur said.
A car headed south on Roxalana struck him and seconds later a second vehicle headed north also hit him. The first driver stopped and waited for police, but the second driver stopped momentarily, spoke to somebody, and then got back into the vehicle and left the scene.
“It’s been reported to us it was a female driver,” said Arthur. “I don’t believe the person was accusatory or belligerent or saying it was the victim’s fault or anything like that, but at this point we’re not real sure what was said.”
Police want to find the driver and speak with them about the incident. The missing driver was in a white four-door sedan believed to be a Honda or Nissan vehicle. The vehicle would have damage from the impact to lower level of the front grill.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department is assisting in the investigation with the accident reconstruction. So far it’s unclear what, if any charges, the two drivers might face.