Attorney drops hit, run case

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November 2, 2009

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL The Commercial-News Mon Nov 02, 2009, 06:31 PM CST

DANVILLE — Charges were dropped Friday against a local resident accused in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian last year.

James Wells, 21, of Danville, faced two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, in connection with the death of Lester Davis more than a year ago.

In court on Friday, the state’s attorney’s office moved to drop the charges against Wells and released him.

State’s Attorney Randy Brinegar said he inherited the case upon being elected to office. Upon review, he decided the evidence did not support the charges.

“We cannot establish that he was the driver at the time of the accident,” he said Monday.

Twenty-year-old Davis was seriously injured after he was hit by a vehicle just after 2 a.m. Oct. 3 in the 600 block of North Gilbert Street. He was transferred to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where he was pronounced dead later that morning.

Davis suffered traumatic injuries as a result of the hit-and-run and was found in the southbound lanes of North Gilbert Street.

Brinegar said several people had access to the vehicle involved in the hit and run on the night of the accident.

“It’s unfortunate, and I’m not happy about it,” he said, noting that both of the charges call for being able to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Police can continue to investigate the case, which can be brought back to the state’s attorney’s office for charges if there is a break or evidence emerges that can identify the driver at the time of the accident.

Wells had faced as much as five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections if he was tried and convicted in the case.

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