After a two-week search, police have arrested a man accused in a deadly hit-and-run earlier this month in Dayton.
On Sept. 6, Walter Hale, who worked at We Care Thrift, was struck by a pickup truck behind the center, Dayton Police Chief Chris Sneed said. Hale died days later from his injuries.
Police said surveillance video from minutes before the incident showed a man believed to be the driver of the pickup truck that struck Hale.
On Thursday, authorities said they had identified the suspected driver as Douglas Edward Alvey, according to a news release from the Rhea County Sheriff's Department. Officers with the Dayton Police Department and the Rhea County Sheriff's Office, assisted by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, arrested Alvey and charged him with criminal homicide. Bond has not been set.
The truck believed to have been involved in the crash has been located.
We Care store manager Ina Carol Ring said Hale worked for the center for the last six years and was a beloved member of the staff. He came to the center after the business on Rossville Boulevard in Chattanooga where he worked closed, Ring said. Hale's wife and daughter also have worked there, she said.
"Everybody here loved him. He was definitely capable as far as his skills go, but he also had a good sense of humor, and there was no job that was too big or too small," Ring said.