Highway hit-and-run leads to grisly discovery at car wash
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 7 months AGO
<p>Park County Coroner Al Jenkins, left, looks through the contents of a vacuum filter at the Super Car Wash in Livingston where a body part from a hit-and-run victim was found on Monday. State Trooper Bill Bullock is at right. (AP Photo)</p>
LIVINGSTON — A human body part found at a south-central Montana car wash matches the victim of a fatal hit-and-run on Interstate 90 near Big Timber, officials said.
Sweet Grass County Coroner Daryl Hodges said the victim was 81-year-old Elgie Bedford of Wasilla, Alaska.
Hodges said part of Bedford’s face was found by a customer at a Livingston car wash on Monday afternoon.
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Bill Bullock said Bedford may have been walking from a vehicle found near the scene where he was first hit, and that he may have been hit several times.
The collision was reported at 7:30 a.m. Monday, but officials are still trying to determine when he was hit.
Sweet Grass County officials made a preliminary identification of the victim on Monday based on a passport and a photo ID found with the body at the scene, Sheriff Dan Tronrud said.
The patrol does not yet have information on the vehicle or the driver suspected of hitting Bedford. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from cameras adjacent to Interstate 90 exits in the area.
Park County Coroner Al Jenkins vacuumed water from a floor drain at the car wash, then searched through the vacuum filter looking for evidence.
Chad Ward, who runs the car wash, said the number of people who use the car wash depends on the weather. He said the business does not have surveillance cameras.
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