FREDERICK COUNTY, Va. – Virginia State Police have identified a suspect in a deadly hit-and-run crash and are asking the public’s help to locate him.
Christofer Valeriano-Lanza, 20, of Winchester, Virginia, is wanted on one felony count of duty to report an accident involving injury or death.
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The deadly crash happened on Jan. 11 at 1:41 a.m. on Route 7 (Berryville Pike) a tenth of a mile west of Route 991 (Regency Lakes).
Map below is of an approximate crash location:
A 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer was traveling east on Route 7 when the driver lost control, ran off the left side of the road, over-corrected, ran off the right side of the road, hit a guardrail, and then hit a bicyclist, according to police.
The Mitsubishi then ran off the left side of the road into a ditch and overturned. The bicyclist was traveling east on Route 7 when it was struck from behind by the Mitsubishi.
The bicyclist, Mark Smith, 49, of Winchester, died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
Police said he was not wearing a helmet.
Valeriano-Lanza ran away from the crash scene before law enforcement arrived, according to state police.
At this time, police are investigating the possibility of there having been two people in the Mitsubishi and who fled the scene following the crash.
State police is encouraging anyone with information concerning Valeriano-Lanza’s whereabouts and/or details about the crash to please contact Virginia State Police Trooper J. Myers at 540-662-3313.