Arrest made after man with dementia seriously injured in hit-and-run

GROVER, N.C. — A driver will face a judge on Wednesday after police said he hit a man who was using a walker three weeks ago on Highway 29 in Cleveland County and then drove off.

Police arrested Wesley Davis, of Clover, on Tuesday. They said he didn't even have a valid driver’s license, officials said.

(Wesley Davis)

Deputies caught Davis after recognizing his car driving around Grover.

Officials said Davis hit 68-year-old Vernon Coyle on Sunday as he was using a walker, knocking him into a ditch. Coyle was on his way to place flowers on his wife's grave, who died of cancer 20 years ago.

“It just feels unreal,” said Cristie Jones, Coyle’s daughter.

Davis, who is an old friend of Coyle, was released from jail and apologized to Jones.

“He said, ‘I can’t eat. I can’t sleep,’” Jones said. “He said, ‘I’m so sorry.’”

Jones said her father is in a hospital, unresponsive with broken bones and a severe head injury.

“I forgive him,” Jones said. “I don’t hold grudges.”

Jones may have to make a very difficult decision. If her father remains unresponsive, she must decide when doctors should take him off of breathing machines.

“I’m just really, really scared, right now,” she said.

She said her father just learned to cope with his wife’s death, and the trip to her grave was part of the healing process.

"That's just awful that somebody would do that and keep going," family friend Dennie Hogue said.

Troopers said Coyle should not have been walking in the street, and Davis wasn't at fault until he left the scene.

Davis' hit-and-run charge could turn into a vehicular homicide charge if Coyle dies.

This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information. 

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