SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Bolivar man has been charged in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash from 2022.
According to online court records, John E. Hofstetter is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and second-degree involuntary manslaughter.
The crash happened on April 26, 2022 when a northbound, silver SUV drove onto the median near Kansas Expressway and Division Street and hit a pedestrian.
The pedestrian, later identified as 59-year-old Jerry Westmoreland of Springfield, was taken to a hospital where he died.
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A probable cause statement says a witness followed Hofstetter to a Sinclair gas station on West Division Street. The witness told Hofstetter he needed to return to the scene of the accident, but Hofstetter drove away.
During its investigation, the Springfield Police Department identified the SUV as a silver 2013 Lincoln MKX using a license plate number provided by a witness to the crash and vehicle parts left on scene.