POLICE believe a young man was the victim of a fatal hit-run on the Murray Valley Highway, north of Kerang, in the early hours of Friday.
With little to no evidence left at the horrific scene, other than a deceased male in his mid-20s, detectives were left scratching their heads and urging witnesses to come forward with any dashcam footage that could help them piece together the man’s final moments at Reedy Lake.
The highway was blocked between Kerang and Lake Charm for more than 12 hours.
Local police handed the case over to Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives at the weekend, who are treating the incident as a hit-run.
The body of the man, who is yet to be formally identified, was discovered when he was struck by a car on the highway at 2.18am.
The driver, a 59-year-old Nyah West woman, stopped at the scene and notified authorities.
Investigators believe the man may have been struck by another vehicle earlier, which left the scene without stopping.
There is also the possibility that he was struck by a large vehicle whose driver was not aware what had occurred.
Inspector Gerard de Vries said detectives were trying to piece together the victim’s movements prior to his death and are keen to speak to anyone travelling in the area between 2am and 2.30am.
“There are a couple of witnesses who saw him prior walking along the side of road out there about 2am,” he told the Gannawarra Times.
“There is no doubt that a vehicle has hit and killed him, the question is what vehicle has hit him is our problem … it’s a bit of a mystery.”
Insp de Vries said there was no vehicle evidence left at the scene.
“There’s no broken blinker or bit of the car left behind, so the scene itself has not revealed much information to us at all, other than the person and the injuries they suffered.”
Insp de Vries said the vehicle involved might have little to no damage sustained given there was no evidence left at the scene to indicate the level of impact.
The reason for the male being in that location at that time is also under investigation.
“It was dark, he was wearing dark clothing – it’s not like there were street lights, so it’s every possibility the driver didn’t realise they had hit someone.
“The next of kin have been notified and they are devastated at what has happened.”
Anyone with dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
