Car and driver found

A Gallup police officer was called to 201 J. M. Montoya Blvd. at 8:48   pm Sept. 17, where two bystanders told an officer that they were driving when they saw something on the road that appeared to be either a body or a trash bag.

When they stopped to check, they found that what they were looking at was a body.

They told the officer that they did not witness what took place, and they just saw the body lying there.

Medical personnel were called in and pronounced the person, who was later identified as Brian Silversmith, 62, a Native American man, deceased.

While officers were on scene, they received a call from Metro Dispatch about a person who witnessed the crash.  The witness said he saw a silver SUV hit the man on the road and leave the scene.  The witness said he followed the SUV to the northern city limits of Gallup, and then lost sight of the vehicle.

On Sept. 24, Gallup police reported that the driver of the silver SUV had been located.  The vehicle has been impounded.  The identity of the driver is being withheld pending the filing of criminal charges.  The investigation is ongoing.