Owensboro Man Charged with Felony Assault in Hit-and-Run Incident

An Owensboro man was charged Tuesday with felony assault and leaving the scene of an accident after striking a parked vehicle and its owner on Hickman Avenue near West 11th Street, according to police reports.

The collision occurred at 12:19 p.m. When William C. Sterett, who had parked his vehicle near Emerson Academy, was outside his car when a pickup truck struck it and ran over his foot. Sterett reported that his right foot was under the truck’s tire and that he yelled for the driver to back up. He told officers the vehicle backed up but he did not remember whether it stopped.

Security video obtained from Emerson Academy showed the pickup truck striking Sterett’s vehicle at the rear side door, backing up and then pulling into the school’s parking lot. The video identified the driver as Kevin S. Heifner, 56, of the 2000 block of Cullen Avenue, who was seen getting out of the truck and walking off-camera toward Sterett’s vehicle. Several minutes later, surveillance footage showed Heifner returning to the pickup and driving north on Hickman Avenue.

The video similarly showed Sterett was legally parked in the southbound lane when Heifner, driving north, crossed the center line and struck the vehicle. Officers identified Heifner as the driver and located him at his place of operate. When approached, Heifner reportedly stated he was told to leave the scene before the officer could make further statements.

Heifner told officers he was driving and looked down. When he looked up, Sterett was in front of his vehicle, and he braked.

Heifner was charged with felony assault and leaving the scene of an accident.