45 Years Later, Hit-And-Run Driver Identified Via Facebook

On October 31, 1968, 4-year old Carolee Sadie Ashby was tragically struck and killed as she crossed a street in her upstate New York home of Oswego. Russ Johnson, a dogged, retired Fulton police detective, was able to solve this cold case via a Facebook post with the details of the case.

Reportedly, a former resident now living in Florida saw the post and came forward with new information. As a result, Douglas Parkhurst, 62, of the town of Oswego, has been identified as the driver of a car that failed to stop. Parkhurst was a suspect back in 1968 but was inexplicably not charged despite admitting to have been an accident that night. He claimed that he had hit a guard rail but the story did not match up with the damage to his car. Unfortunately, Parkhurst cannot be charged because the statute of limitations has expired. Yet, the information allows the Fulton police department to close this sad case.

In New York, it is a misdemeanor of 3 points on your license to leave the scene of an accident where there is personal injury. When the hit-and-run involves a fatality, it becomes a felony. If there is no death or injury, then leaving the scene of accident involving property damage is a violation (non-criminal) and carries 3 points.