On May 5th, 2022, at 5:43 a.m. officers with the West Plains Police Department were dispatched for a hit and run traffic crash.
The caller advised a bicyclist had been struck by a red car on U.S. Highway 63 near Elmore Drive, in West Plains, Missouri.
The officers that arrived in the area found a nineteen-year-old male bicyclist lying in the grass near the
shoulder of the roadway.
They also found the bicycle which had been dragged by the suspect vehicle approximately 100 feet away.
Jason Thomas Vanatter a 52-year-old male has been taken into custody in this case.
A probable cause statement was submitted to the Howell County Prosecutors Office for Assault 2nd degree and felony leaving the scene of an accident.
Vanatter was issued a bond of $25,000 for those charges.
Vanatter is assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The nineteen-year-old used the bicycle that was destroyed as a method of transportation to and from work.
Because it was destroyed the employees of the West Plains Police Department partnered with Walmart to buy
him a brand new one.
The employees at the police department pitch in various amounts of money from their own pockets to buy the bike along with some added safety equipment.
For a Complete Look at All the Latest News Click Link Below