Authorities search for driver after fatal Lenoir hit-and-run

LENOIR, N.C. — A fatal crash closed the northbound lanes of Highway 321, near the Wilkesboro Highway, in Lenoir early Thursday morning.

Police told Channel 9 that a woman was walking on Highway 321 from Bojangles’ and was trying to cross the road when she was struck by a pickup truck.

Before emergency responders arrived, a second vehicle hit the woman while she was lying in the road. The second driver did not stop.

Michelle Ann Holt, 46, was rushed to Caldwell UNC Health Care, where she died.

Investigators believe Holt had gone to a nearby Bojangles to get breakfast and was trying to cross the four-lane highway.

A robocall went out to all Lenoir residents telling them to avoid the area for several hours. The road reopened around 11 a.m.

Police told Channel 9 that the second vehicle that hit Holt, a dark-colored pickup truck, drove off heading north on Highway 321 and they are trying to find that driver.

Breaking Lenoir- on the scene of a bad crash where a woman was struck on highway 321 north of Smith Cross Road pic.twitter.com/hjP5bJ5grE
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) April 28, 2016

A driver who didn't want to be identified went to check on Holt after hitting her with his pickup truck.

The driver says when he got to her she was moving but then he saw another pickup truck heading toward him.

"I looked up and saw headlights on me and tried to motion to get the vehicle to stop," the driver said. "Struck her and I dodged out of the way and he kept going."

He tried to get the other driver to stop and thinks whoever was behind the wheel knew what happened.

"Life's precious,” the driver said. “You need to face up to what you have done."