Woman wants answers after boyfriend killed in hit-and-run crash

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Monica Eagle doesn't believe that her long-time boyfriend, London Coleman, was killed by a hit-and-run driver, even though that's what state troopers said happened.

"There's no evidence of a hit-and-run. There's no tire marks, there's no splatter of blood from impact. He had only one broken rib," Eagle said.

This much is known: the 43-year-old Coleman was found dead on the side of Highway 99, or Richburg Road, early Saturday.  Troopers believe he was coming home from a bar, walking on the shoulder of the road when he was hit by a car around 4 a.m.

It is a dark, country road, and Coleman was found more than an hour after his death.

Eagle believes someone attacked him while he was walking.

"I think someone beat the fire out of him, put him there, and then hit him one more time in the back of his head," she said.

The Chester County Coroner's Office will not confirm the specifics of any of Coleman's injuries at this time.  However, Deputy Coroner Tommy Williams said he firmly believed that from the evidence, Coleman was clearly struck by a vehicle.

Autopsy results are still not complete.

The Highway Patrol's accident reconstruction team is handling the case, but that investigation is also still in progress.  Late Monday, troopers had not released any new information.  They also didn't have any description of a possible hit-and-run vehicle.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, Channel 9 requested the incident report from the Highway Patrol.

At the crash scene on Richburg Road, there are flowers placed as a memorial to Coleman.  However, there are no visible tire marks or pieces from a damaged car.

London was the father to nine children, seven of them with Eagle. She said the ones that are old enough to understand what's happened are devastated and angry.

"London was all I had left besides my kids and my brother," Eagle said. "A dog didn't deserve to die like he did."

If you have any information about the crash Saturday morning, you're asked to call the South Carolina Highway Patrol at 1-800-768-1504.

WSOC