Answers are few in Norfolk hit-and-run death

NORFOLK

Michael Hill was on his way to the grocery store when a gray Infiniti ran a stop sign at more than 55 mph and slammed into his Honda Passport, flipping the SUV onto its side and throwing Hill from the wreck.

The Infiniti crashed through a fence, hit a pole, and came to rest upright, its air bags inflated. Three people climbed out of the car, which had been stolen, and ran away.

None stopped to check on Hill. None called for help. Emergency responders found him lying face-down in the road in a pool of blood at West 25th Street and Colonial Avenue.

Hill died at the hospital a short while later. He was 47.

Detectives visited Hill's brother, David, in the middle of the night to give him the news. David and his sister, Sharon Hill-Edwards, identified their big brother's body at the hospital morgue. Both felt they had to confirm that it was really Michael.

"It was the longest hall we ever walked," Hill-Edwards said.

That was a little over a year ago: Nov. 22, 2008. His family has struggled to come to terms with the loss and how those charged were handled in court. Only two of the three people were identified, and neither was charged as the driver.

Michael Hill loved the Redskins like his family. When the team lost, Hill made no apology. Next year, the Super Bowl, he would say. He loved to barbecue so much his family wondered if he kept a portable grill with him at all times. The night he died, he was headed to the store to get beans and ice cream for a friend.

In the months that followed his death, police charged two people: Doncelle McClendon, a 21-year-old Norfolk man, and a 17-year-old girl. Both pleaded guilty to hit-and-run charges. McClendon was sentenced in July to 16 months, with three years suspended. He is scheduled to be released in April. The girl's case remained in juvenile court because of her age. She was sentenced to one month in jail, with another 11 months suspended.

Neither was convicted as the driver. The third person in the car has not been identified. No one was charged with stealing the Infiniti.

Hill's family has struggled to reconcile their grief with the sentences McClendon and the girl received.

"It's like a slap on the wrist," said Michael's mother, Jacqueline. They wonder if anyone will be charged with driving the car that killed Michael or with stealing it in the first place.

Prosecutors faced conflicting evidence. According to a summary of their evidence submitted to the court when McClendon pleaded guilty, he made statements that seemed to imply guilt.

McClendon called a cousin for help a short while after the accident, according to the summary. He and two other people got into the cousin's car. When that cousin later asked if McClendon had been in the accident shown on television news, McClendon said yes.

A month later, when police arrested McClendon and took him before a magistrate, McClendon said, "I have a lot of remorse and sorrow for the family about this guy who died, but I did not mean to cause this accident."

Forensic tests showed McClendon's DNA on the driver's side air bag, according to the summary, but also revealed someone else's DNA there. Fingerprint examiners found McClendon's prints on a rear view mirror, but also on the rear passenger door.

Prosecutors had no evidence as to who stole the car. The Infiniti had been taken from the police impound lot on Nov. 10, 2008. According to a police report provided by the Hills, a security guard was on duty but was not aware of the theft. Video showed the car moving but no thief was visible.

John Hill, Michael's father, struggles with that.

"If they had secured that car like it should have been, my son would be alive today," he said.

Amanda Howie, spokeswoman for the commonwealth's attorney's office, said although the crimes involve the same car, they are separate offenses.

There was no evidence from the wreck that pointed to who stole the car, she said. Further, neither McClendon nor the girl identified the third person who had been in the car.

The charges prosecutors pursued are the ones supported by the evidence they had, she said.

"This is where the evidence took us," Howie said. "Would we have liked to have more information? Sure. Given the evidence we made the best solution under the law."

Howie said prosecutors met repeatedly with the Hills to explain how the case would be handled.

"We recognize the grieving process includes the family's need to understand what happened to Michael and to seek justice for him," she said.

John Hill said he is weary of the grief, weary of the questions.

"I'm really sick of it," he said. "I can't let it go by."

Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com