Update: Suspect turns himself in

ST. JOE, IND. (WANE) - Police say around 3:20 Tuesday afternoon, a suspect in the fatal hit-and-run of a road construction worker turned himself into the Dekalb County Sheriff's Department. 77-year old-Robert Volkert of Hicksville, Ohio says he was the driver of the vehicle involved in the Monday afternoon crash.

Police say a pickup truck driver fatally struck a highway worker in northeast Indiana, with the driver then fleeing the scene. 

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department says 22-year-old Andrew Landes of Indianapolis was killed in the crash Monday on Indiana 1 near the town of St. Joe.

Landes was an employee for Indianapolis-based Butler, Fairman & Seufert Civil Engineers and was hit and killed instantly in the crash.

Police say he was knelt down on the road Monday afternoon around 3:00, measuring the road for a future painting project. Police say he was wearing his bright-colored vest with his company work truck behind him… when seconds later, everything changed.

"A pick-up truck that was southbound on State Road 1 struck him as he was leaning over and measuring," said DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department Detective Don Lauer.

That truck then kept going down State Road 1 without ever turning back.

"The driver may have panicked, or may have been intoxicated, we really don't know at the point," Detective Lauer said.

Police say the driver's attention may have been focused on the work truck and a second worker who was behind it, meaning it's possible the driver never saw Landes.

Neighbors noticed the backed-up traffic and went to see what was happening.

"When I saw them put the white sheet down on the ground I knew they covered up a body," said Melvin Herschberger, who lives along State Road 1.

By Tuesday afternoon, only a paint brush remained as a reminder of the crash.

It wasn't Landes's typical job. Police say he rolled up his sleeves to help his employer.

"He was typically an officer worker. And maybe because of a shortage they had with workers, he actually came out of the office and into the field," Detective Lauer said.

Tuesday afternoon, the suspect arrived in the truck he was driving at the time of the accident. It was a tan GMC pickup matching the description provided by witnesses.

He was interviewed and incarcerated on a charge of Failure to stop after an accident involving death, a class C Felony. He is being held on $3,000 bond.

It’s too soon to tell what may have caused Volkert to hit Landes. Before Volkert turned himself in, police said it was possible that the driver swerved to avoid Landes’s work truck and as a result, didn’t even see Landes. They hope to learn more in the days to come as their investigation continues. That will ultimately determine the exact types of charges that Volkert could be facing.