San Diego

Deadly Hit-and-Run Crash in Golden Hill

The hit-and-run victim's body was found at SR-94 at 30th Street; an abandoned car somehow related to the hit-and-run was found abandoned off SR-94 just east of I-15

The California Highway Patrol launched an investigation Tuesday at two separate
locations in Golden Hill in connection with a deadly hit-and-run.

Joseph Darby, 20, was hit by a car while crossing State Route 94 near 30th Street at about 2 a.m. The driver did not stop, leaving the victim in the street.

Someone spotted the victim's body and called 911.

Darby's body was located on the freeway by CHP and by tactical flight officers in the San Diego Police Department's ABLE helicopter. Car parts of what is believed to be a gray Volkswagen were also found scattered at that scene.

Darby's sister, Tanya, spoke with NBC 7 as she recalled memories of her baby brother.

"That's my baby," Tanya said. "I was there the day he was born. So it sucks to know I'm ging to have to bury him too."

Later in the morning officers found an abandoned gray Honda Accord with its front passenger door open off the SR-94, just east of Interstate 15. Officers said the car is related to the crash, but did not immediately release specifics.

Tanya said she did not know what her brother had been doing or where he was going at the time of the incident, and admitted he had some brushes with the law in the past, but asked how anyone could leave his body lying there.

"If somebody knows, say something please!" Tanya said. "Come forward. What if this was your family? It's not right, it's not right at all."

The hit-and-run shut down two westbound lanes of SR-94 into the beginning of the Tuesday morning commute. Traffic lanes reopened just after 6 a.m.

Authorities are investigating the incident. 

CHP asks anyone who sees a gray Volkswagen with damage to the front or left side to notify CHP so officers can question the driver.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

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