10pm 2/17/12: Victim's Family Speaks Out
UPDATE 2/21/12 @ 10:20 p.m.
ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Another person has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit and run that happened late last month on U.S. 119 in Elkview, sheriff's deputies tell WSAZ.com.
Grant Mitchell Givens, 23, of Elkview, was arrested Tuesday evening. Another person, Lynsey Taylor, was arrested earlier this month.
Deputies say Givens was riding with Taylor last month when she hit and killed Dennis James. The 47-year-old Elkview resident was hit as he was crossing U.S. 119 in Elkview.
Givens is accused of trying to cover up the accident. Deputies say he took Taylor's car to a body shop and had all the damage from the accident repaired.
Givens was charged with being an accessory and making false statements. He was taken to the South Central Regional Jail.
Taylor is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death. Deputies say Taylor didn't stop to help.
She is being held in the South Central Regional Jail on a $150,000 bond.
For the family of Dennis James, closure has been a long time coming.
"It was a big relief off of our shoulders," said Tracy James, Dennis' sister-in-law. "We could finally rest. None of us have been able to rest ever since this has happened."
Thursday night, Lynsey Taylor was charged with leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Department says Taylor hit James while he was crossing Elk River Road and never stopped.
"My mom's had a real hard time," said Christina Hawk, James' sister. "She doesn't sleep. She doesn't eat. Just watching your family mourn and no peace, it's been horrible."
That's how Hawk describes the three weeks since the death of her brother and arrest in his case.
"Seeing my mom's heart and my dad's heart so broken," Hawk said. "I couldn't imagine losing one of my kids. Just watching my parents mourn and suffer, it's hard to take."
"The hardest thing for me is knowing that they live right down the road and that they've passed our families home and the place of the accident everyday knowing that his blood stain was on the road for at least a week," Tracy James said. "And they just drove by, living their lives."
"Losing my brother's the hardest part," Hawk said. "And then them not showing any remorse. That's been hard."
"If they would have stopped, even the next day, we would have had some forgiveness," James said. "Now that forgiveness is gone."
Dennis James' family said they've been able to get through this difficult time by coming together and remembering the life of their loved one, taken too soon.
"I hope they get what they deserve," Hawk said. "And I'll just let God be the judge."
Taylor's being held in the South Central Regional Jail on a $200,000 bond. Detectives say more charges may be filed against other people.
Lynsey Taylor was arrested Thursday night in Kanawha County.
She is accused of hitting Dennis James as he was crossing U-S 119 in Elkview last month, then taking off.
James died from his injuries.
Taylor is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death.
She is being taken to the South Central Regional Jail.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies say they are now looking at two styles of cars.
The accident happened last week on Elk River Road across from the Blue Creek Post Office.
Detectives say the driver hit Dennis Glen James, 47, of Elkview, as he was crossing the road -- then took off.
James died from his injuries.
The suspect vehicle is believed to be either a 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt or a 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5.
Detectives are asking the public to be aware of owners of either style of car who have recently purchased driver's side car parts.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
That man, 47-year-old Dennis James, later died from his injuries.
It happened on the 5100-block of Elk River Road, in Elkview, about 11:20 Friday night.
Now every time the James family looks out their front door, they'll be reminded of how their loved one was killed.
Friday night James and his girlfriend Tina Smith were stopping to visit at his family's home.
They'd parked across the street and were walking toward the house when he was hit by a car.
“They didn't even slow down," Dennis’s sister Christina Hawk said. "He was lying in the road, and he had a heartbeat for a little while, but we lost him on the way to the hospital."
Saturday the family was together supporting each other, but they say there's no way they'll have peace while whoever's responsible is still free.
"Why would you keep continuing to drive, unless you were scared or maybe under the influence of what not,” Smith said. “I just don't understand how you could have a conscience and go to sleep at night knowing you have killed a person."
The family says they'd like to see whoever was driving decide to turn themselves in.
However, if that doesn't happen, they hope anyone who knows anything about this will help deputies with the investigation so they can find some closure.
Smith says she didn't get a great look at the vehicle involved but said it looked similar to a dark blue or black Dodge Neon.
Deputies say the car should have damage to the front, specifically to the headlight areas.
If you have any information you're urged to call the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department.
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