LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. — A 53-year-old La Grange man has been arrested and charged with felony hit and run involving serious injury or death after a woman’s body was discovered along a rural Lenoir County road this past weekend.
Steven Hawkins was taken into custody following an investigation that began Saturday afternoon when two pedestrians walking along Paul’s Path Road found the victim’s body in a roadside ditch and immediately called 911.
According to First Sgt. Christopher Knox with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the fatal crash actually occurred approximately one week before the body was discovered. The victim’s identity has not yet been released by authorities.
Initially, both Highway Patrol and Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office investigators responded to the scene as the cause of death was unclear. However, evidence collected during the investigation led troopers to believe the woman had been struck by a Ford F-250 pickup truck.
The breakthrough in the case came when a state trooper patrolling U.S. 70 near Harold Sutton Road spotted a pickup truck with damage consistent with the deadly crash. When pulled over, Hawkins reportedly admitted to striking and killing the woman on Paul’s Path Road.
Hawkins was released from custody after posting a $100,000 secured bond. The investigation remains ongoing.
