Sister of Man Killed by Hit and Run Driver Says Her Brother Had a Bit of the ‘Rebel Mendocino County Boy’ in Him

At approximately 1:20 a.m., the CHP say 41-year-old Mendocino County man Paul Brown was walking on Willits’s Sherwood Road when an unidentified driver struck him, fled the scene. Brown later passed away as a result of his injuries.

As per a press release issued by the California Highway Patrol Garberville office, the vehicle suspected of striking Brown is a 2018-2020 Hyundai Accent. CHP investigators determined the vehicle was driving westbound on Sherwood Road east of Birch Terrace and for “reasons being investigated” crossed over the solid double yellow lines and struck Brown as he was walking on the south asphalt shoulder.

As per the press release, investigators determined that the silver Hyundai Accent fled the scene and suffered left front end damage including the left headlight assembly and the front bumper.

In efforts to identify the driver of the vehicle, the CHP Garberville office is asking for the public’s assistance in locating the vehicle. They are also asking any nearby residences or businesses to review any surveillance footage which “may have captured the silver, 2018-2020 Hyundai Accent prior to or following the traffic collision.

We spoke to Carrie Callan, Brown’s sister, who described her brother’s passing as “horrible and shocking.” She was confused and saddened that someone would run over another and leave them for dead saying, “You don’t hit a person and leave them there.” Callan surmised the unidentified hit and run driver could have been drunk or intoxicated and fled the scene out of fear of punishment.

Brown’s sister Callan told us that a driver saw her brother lying on the roadside and reported the circumstances to law enforcement. This could indicate he was hit earlier than 1:20 a.m. reported by CHP.

Callan described her brother as a caring man with a bit of the rebel Mendocino County boy in him. She said he was a good mechanic working on motorcycles and trucks. He was in the area to help Callan cut up a big oak tree that had fallen in her front yard.

Callan asks that “If anyone knows anything, please come forward and be on the lookout for the suspected vehicle. Maybe someone knows who was at the bars last night and left around 1 am.”

CHP Garberville requests if “anyone has any information which could lead to the location of the silver, 2018-2020 Hyundai Accent or to the identity of the driver please contact the CHP Garberville area at (707) 923-2155 or at the Humboldt Communications Center at (707) 268-2000.”

UPDATE: Last Night, Law Enforcement Was in Brooktrails Confiscating a Vehicle Which Appeared to be Connected to Friday Morning’s Fatal Hit and Run

Earlier: Fatal Hit and Run Near Willits