Cops: Hit-and-Run Suspect Thought He Hit Shopping Cart

Robert Park told police he thought he hit a shopping cart the night he allegedly struck Henry Waye Jr, according to news reports.

The 14-year-old Bristol boy was walking his bicycle up a hill in Bristol on March 5 when a white pickup struck him from behind. Less than five hours later, Waye died. 

Within hours of the hit-and-run, Bristol police had tracked down a white pickup truck that matched descriptions from witnesses. Park, who has been charged in the crash, lives on George Street, just up the road from where Waye was hit, police said.

Police questioned him that same night and Lt. Kevin Morrell told the Bristol Press that Park was “highly intoxicated... (his) eyes were glassy, his speech was slurred, his thoughts were disjointed and he spoke in fragmented sentences.”

Park made a statement to police about chasing another vehicle and about the “shopping cart” that damaged his truck, according to the Press. The shopping cart, police told him, was a teenage boy.

Park was not arrested that night. Instead, he was taken to a hospital for treatment and not charged until nearly three months later

Park, 44, turned himself in to police on June 1 and he was charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, manslaughter and operating under the influence.

Police said Park had been "unavailable" to arrest until recently. Sources said Park, who was charged with operating under the influence during the crash, was in rehab.

He is due back in court next month.

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