Bicylist Killed in Hit and Run - Part 2

Friggin Shit. This is unbelievable.
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Suspect in Valley hit-and-run dead of apparent suicide

By TATABOLINE BRANT
Anchorage Daily News

Published: June 7, 2006
Last Modified: June 7, 2006 at 03:22 PM


A Palmer man suspected of killing a bicyclist in a Wasilla hit-and-run Monday was found dead at his home in an apparent suicide, Alaska State Troopers said today.


The hit-and-run occurred about 10 p.m. Monday. Troopers said Patrick Joseph Curtis, 47, of Wasilla was bicycling along Fireweed Road when a truck struck him from behind and killed him.

The truck sped away, but not before witnesses got a look at it. Troopers immediately started hunting for the driver and the truck, which was described as a dark Dodge flatbed with a lumber or pipe rack and a tank in the back.

Investigators soon identified James Jay Felland, 34, of Palmer as a possible suspect. He lived in the area and owned a 1999 Dodge flatbed, they said in a written statement this morning.

Troopers went to Felland’s home around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. They found the Dodge parked in the driveway. It had damage that corresponded to the hit-and-run. No one appeared to be home. Investigators waited while troopers from the Palmer post applied for a search warrant.

Troopers said Felland’s wife arrived home about 6 p.m. and gave them permission to examine the Dodge more closely. When she went inside, she found a suicide note from her husband, troopers said.

Investigators found Felland in an upstairs bedroom, dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the statement. His body was released to the family.

Troopers said their investigation shows that Felland was driving home from Wasilla the night the accident occurred. There is no indication that Felland knew the victim prior to crash, they said.


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Contact reporter Tataboline Brant at