BLOOMINGTON — An Illinois man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed an Indiana National Guardsman who was part of a deployment to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report from the Bloomington Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of West 17th Street and North Kinser Pike shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday on report of a crash with injuries.
Police said there were two vehicles involved in the front yard of a residence on the northeast corner of the intersection. The driver of a 1990 Ford Mustang was trapped in his vehicle. Officers found no occupants in a 1996 Toyota 4Runner and it was determined the driver of the Toyota fled the scene before officers arrived.
The driver of the Mustang was extricated and taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, where he later died. The victim was identified by the Monroe County Coroner's Office as Matthew Roecker, 18, of Poland, Ind. The coroner's office said Roecker was a member of the Indiana National Guard and had been deployed to Bloomington to help in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Police identified the driver of the Toyota as a 42-year-old man from Dekalb, Ill. Officers checked several locations looking for him but were unable to locate him. After receiving a tip, officers located the man at the Wheeler Mission for Men in the 200 block of South Westplex Avenue.
The man was arrested and is being held in the Monroe County Jail on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a level 4 felony.
