Man Charged In Fatal 2008 Hit And Run After Confessing To Victim's Family

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 27, 2012 5:30PM

Melissa Lech (Family Photo)

Police say David H. McCarthy's guilty conscience led him to confess to the August 2008 hit-and-run to Lech's sister yesterday morning. Lech's sister then called Joliet Det. John Ross, who had been working the case. Joliet Police Cmdr. Brian Benton said the incident "had been weighing on (McCarthy's) mind.”

“He told her it had thought about it every time it was in the news," Benton said.

Lech attended a White Sox game with friends and later went to a Joliet sports bar. She was walking along Infantry Drive to McDonough Street after she left the bar when McCarthy allegedly hit her. Ross and other investigators checked cellular tower data and examined several vehicles in the area for evidence, and the Lech family posted a $25,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of her killer.

McCarthy is charged with hit-and-run and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death.