SMITHFIELD – A stolen vehicle recovered by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office is not linked to a fatal hit and run accident.
Shortly after 5:00pm Friday, deputies stopped a stolen Chevy Traverse in the 4700 block of US 301 just north of Four Oaks. At least two people in the vehicle were arrested. The SUV had been stolen days earlier from a used car dealership in Princeton.
The State Highway Patrol responded to the traffic stop and thoroughly checked the SUV. Troopers determined it was not involved in a fatal hit and run accident just before 11:00pm Thursday off Braswell Road, east of Smithfield.
A man was riding his bicycle on a dark stretch of Braswell Road when he was struck from behind. The victim was ejected and died at the scene.
The vehicle that struck the bicyclist, did not stop. Based on eyewitness information and vehicle parts located at the scene, the hit and run vehicle was a bluish SUV with a broken headlight and other damage.
If you have any information about the hit and run vehicle, you are asked to contact the State Highway Patrol.
Troopers have not released the name of the person killed in the hit and run crash.
