Driver accused of leaving scene after hitting, killing man on Blue Ridge Parkway

ALLEGHANY COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities are looking for a driver accused of hitting and killing a man on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The National Park Service said Brandon Lee Wagoner, 33, was found on the road in the Sparta area on Tuesday. It’s a couple miles from Fox Hunters Paradise Overlook.

Investigators believe Wagoner was hit and killed by a driver who left the scene. Now, they’re asking for help identifying the driver.

Family members said Wagoner’s grandmother lives close to the roadway. They believe he may have visited her the night he died.

“Brandon was a kind-hearted good soul,” said his father, Craig Wagoner. “He would go out of his way to help anyone who needed it, if he was asked.”

The National Park Service is overseeing the investigation with help from the SBI and the Highway Patrol.

They say they have not found any pieces of the car along the Parkway and have not identified the driver.

Neighbors say they’re trying to help authorities.

“Everyone is kind of sharing it on Facebook, trying to help figure out who it was,” neighbor Amanda Spencer said.

“It’s a bad situation for the family and the community, as well,” neighbor Tommy Hunt said.

Wagoner said he still can’t believe his son was killed in an area so many people love to visit.

More than 15 million people visited the Blue Ridge Parkway last year.

“I don’t have hard feelings,” he said. “I would just like them to come forward and accept what they’ve done. We’ll never have total closure until they come forward.”

National Parks Service investigators asked anyone who may have traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway in that location Tuesday either overnight or in the early morning to call their tip line at 888-653-0009. You can also email nps_isb@nps.gov.

No further information was made available.

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