Fort Macleod man charged in hit-and-run death of Montana girl in Lethbridge

On April 22, 2012, shortly after midnight, Lethbridge Regional Police Service police officers responded to a report of a female lying in the westbound lanes of Crowsnest Trail, west of the Scenic Drive overpass in Lethbridge. Upon arrival, police officers found the female to be deceased. The female was later identified as 17 year old Feather Love Grassy Water, of Missoula, Montana. Evidence at scene led police officers to believe Grassy Water had been struck by a motor vehicle.

Further investigation by the Lethbridge Regional Police Service Traffic Response Unit, assisted by the Identification Section and the Patrols Division, along with the Fort Macleod RCMP, led police officers to a suspect in Fort Macleod, Alberta. A search warrant was executed later in the day which resulted in the seizure of the suspect’s 2007 Dodge Ram truck.

27 year old Joshua Cornell Van Herk of Fort Macleod has been charged with one count of failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving death.

The west bound lanes of the Crowsnest Trail was re-opened shortly after 7 am. The collision remains under investigation by the Lethbridge Regional Police Service Traffic Response Unit.