Man dead in possible hit and run, Kamloops police say

KAMLOOPS – Police are investigating after the discovery of a body on a Kamloops area highway last night in an apparent hit and run.

Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Ed Preto said in a release someone called 911 just after 9 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 7, to report the man in the southbound lane of Highway 5 near the Highway 1 junction. Preto said the 21-year-old man is not a Kamloops resident. 

"It appears that he was struck by a vehicle and that vehicle did not remain at scene," Preto says in the release.

RCMP believe the driver may not know they hit the victim because it was night time, there was no lighting in the area and the victim was wearing black clothing.

Investigators would like to talk to anyone driving in the area Sunday night that may have thought they hit an animal, or who now notice some damage to their vehicle.

The highway was closed last night for several hours as police dealt with the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

— This story was updated at 3:52 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 with new information from RCMP.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

?We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.