50 Years Later: Hit-and-Run Kills Man Who Fatally Struck Carolee Ashby

by Mikayla Kemp | June 2, 2018 1:46 pm

SANFORD, MAINE – Douglas Parkhurst, 68, of West Newfield, Maine, has been identified by local authorities as the victim struck by a vehicle at a baseball game in Sanford on Friday (June 1.)

Parkhurst was said to have pushed children out of the way of the vehicle which resulted in being the victim of a hit and run. The driver, Carol Sharrow, 52, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter according to a report from News Center Maine[1].

No motive has been established.

Parkhurst, formerly an Oswego resident, confessed in 2013 to fatally striking four-year-old Carolee Ashby with his car 50 years ago.

Ashby was struck by a vehicle on Halloween night in 1968 while crossing what was then referred to as the North South Arterial (now known as State Route 481) near Division Street in the City of Fulton with her sister and cousin.

A vehicle hit Ashby while traveling northbound and did not stop following the accident.

For years, the Fulton Police Department followed several leads to find the driver of the vehicle to no avail until eventually a witness came forward with suspicion directed toward Douglas Parkhurst in a 2012 Facebook post from retired Fulton Police Department Lieutenant Russ Johnson.

Despite being interviewed in 1968 and misleading police to believe he was involved in an accident with a guard post in Volney, New York, Parkhurst became the center of the now reopened investigation.

According to a 2013 press release from Fulton Police Department[2], “During these interviews Parkhurst admitted to consuming alcohol prior to driving through the City of Fulton on October 31, 1968. Parkhurst stated he was with his brother who was passed out in the back seat. While passing through Fulton, Parkhurst confirmed he hit something, stating he believed at the time it was an animal, but now knows it was Carolee Ashby.”

The statute of limitations had expired on the case, so no charges were filed. However, Fulton Police Department remained committed to providing closure to the Ashby family.

Similarly, now 50 years later, the Parkhurst family will seek closure as they await a possible motive in the hit-and-run death of Doug Parkhurst.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/fulton/50-years-later-hit-and-run-kills-man-who-fatally-struck-carolee-ashby/

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