STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. - A 31-year-old man was killed early Tuesday in a hit-and-run crash on Patriot Highway in Spotsylvania, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.
Deadly hit-and-run
What we know:
According to his wife, 31-year-old Quinten Howard was crossing Patriot Highway in Spotsylvania.
She says he was crossing the median wearing dark clothing alongside another man. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The man her husband was with allegedly assaulted the driver, who remained at the scene. That assault is now under investigation.
Dig deeper:
FOX 5 DC spoke with the victim's wife, Renee Howard.
"It's just kind of like one of those freak accident things," said Renee. "You're stuck in your last phone call, your last text message... all those things. The last call where I'm not worried about saying 'I love you' or 'I miss you.' I'll see you in a couple of hours, or you're going to call me in a couple of hours. But he was a loving guy. He loved my children. He loved me to death."
Quinten and Renee share four children — from teenagers to as young as three years old.
She says she got a call early this morning to come to Mary Washington Hospital, where her husband had been pronounced dead.
She’s told her two oldest children. But she hasn’t found the heart yet to explain it to the younger two. She says Quinten often stayed home with the youngest kids while she went to work — because childcare was just too expensive.
And now, it’s the little things she’ll miss: The casual phone calls about what to grab for dinner, or who needed something from the pharmacy.
While she waits for answers from police, Renee says her message to drivers is simple: pay attention.
"To hit somebody that hard and they die… I don't think the speed limit—maybe it’s high on that road—but just to be at that rate of speed and not aware of what's going on is crazy to me. And there's really nothing I can do but pick up the pieces now that I've lost my husband."
Separate incident
What we know:
Another 36-year-old male was killed early Wednesday morning in a hit-and-run while walking northbound near Foreston Woods. Police have located the vehicle, which was described as a 2018 White Audi Q5, but not the driver.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact Deputy S.C. Martin at 540-658-4450.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Stafford County Sheriff's Office. It has been updated to reflect that the two hit-and-run incidents in the area are separate and unrelated.