Mooresville man charged with murder in hit-and-run death

Published 3:08 pm Monday, June 5, 2017

A Mooresville man has been charged with second-degree murder in a hit-and-run accident in Mooresville.

Davidson Christopher Hollister, 23, of McKendree Road, Mooresville, was charged with second-degree murder and felony hit and run and was given a $1 million bond. He remains in the Iredell County Detention Center. Additional charges are expected.

On June 3, deputies responded to a report of a man being struck by a vehicle on Brook Glen Drive. They found Clinton D. Whitley, 32, dead in the roadway with injuries suggesting he had been run over by a vehicle.

The State Highway Patrol was called in to assist. The investigation indicated that a vehicle was spinning its tires in a grassy area and that a mailbox had been struck.

Investigators determined that Hollister drove the vehicle that struck Whitley and did not stop.

They found that Whitley, Hollister and others were at a party on Brook Glen Drive. Witnesses said Hollister and Whitley got into an argument over a woman later in the evening.

Witnesses say they saw Hollister in his truck exchanging words with Whitley, who was on foot.

Witnesses said Hollister drove backward into the grass, then forward onto the road, spinning tires in both directions. Evidence indicated that Hollister then ran over Whitley, who was in the road, and fled.

The investigation is ongoing. Detectives used a search warrant to collect blood evidence from the suspect.