6 Months Later, Search Continues For Driver In Hopkins Hit & Run
HOPKINS, Minn. (WCCO) -- If time heals all wounds, the clock is barely ticking in Bob Stafford's Hopkins home.
"We were going to go back up to the boundary waters, like we did when we first met. We were looking forward to that so much," Bob said, choked with emotion.
His house is sadly quiet, his days empty after tragedy took away the love of his life.
Bob's wife of 33 years, 75-year-old Jeanne Stafford, left home around 6:00 a.m. on October 26th, 2016.
She'd walk just half a block to 17th Avenue North and Main Street to catch the morning bus to Minneapolis. That's where a driver slammed into her -- but never stopped.
Barely able to speak, she told her husband who rushed to the scene that she had a green light and was crossing Main when a dark SUV hit her and drove away.
"Honestly, it was an accident. I don't think anybody would ever do anything like that on purpose," Bob quietly explained.
Bob's initial anger in the days immediately following Jeanne's death has now turned into frustration. Hopkins police investigators are left with few solid leads in the case.
Other witnesses reported only that they saw a dark color SUV with dark wheels and possibly some kind of sticker in the passenger window.
Investigators also released some grainy black-and-white photos showing two vehicles seen in the area near the time of the hit and run. Police put out an appeal trying locate the possible witnesses in those vehicles, believed to be either a Dodge minivan, Toyota Matrix or Honda Fit, but those drivers have yet to come forward.
"It's well lit, you're here at night, the intersection is well lit," explains local mechanic, Brian Hartmann.
Hartmann operates the garage at the corner of the intersection and knows Bob well. Hartmann is still hopeful and is praying for a lead that helps solve the troubling mystery.
"It's not like they just happened to turn the corner and, whoops, there she was in their headlights. You can see people walking across the street, so whoever did it knows they hit her," Hartmann said.
But mostly, Hartmann is praying for the answers for a grieving husband -- to give Bob Stafford the peace he so desperately deserves.
"I could have some closure if whoever did that would just show up," Bob Stafford said.
Bob says he's dealt with his initial anger towards the hit and run driver and now will extend forgiveness should the person come forward.
There is still a $15,000 reward being offered for information that leads to the identity of the person responsible.
You are asked to call the Hopkins Police Department at 952-938-8885 with any tips that could help solve the case.