Jamerson allegedly ran over Maryland resident in September
A Selbyville man was charged on Dec. 21 in connection with a mid-September hit-and-run incident on Polly Branch Road that killed a Bishopville, Md., resident. Police said that Herbert Jamerson, 35, ran over Enoch Golphin, 41, with his Dodge “dually” pickup truck on Sept. 16, just north of Roxana Road, before fleeing the scene.
After an initial appeal to the public for information in the case, a tip helped investigators pinpoint Jamerson as a suspect. He was arrested last week after turning himself in.
A grand jury indicted the Selbyville man on Dec. 11 and later charged him with second-degree vehicular homicide, as well as leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, failure to report an accident resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence.
After the initial incident, witnesses described what is now allegedly Jamerson’s “bright red,” Dodge, full-size pick-up truck with dual rear wheels on either side.
Although witnesses provided that description, authorities had initially worried that the suspected lack of physical damage to the truck would hinder the investigation, possibly leaving them tracking down one of many trucks and with no suspects. Ultimately, though, investigators used the description to help find the truck Jamerson allegedly used during the crime, at his work in Frankford.
“At least we did have a description of the suspect’s vehicle from the onset,” said Cpl. Jeff Oldham, a Delaware State Police spokesman. “I’m sure that helped with this tip. It would have been harder if we didn’t have any vehicle description.”
Jamerson was arraigned at Superior Court, police said, and released from custody on $1,350 bond, awaiting a hearing.
Jamerson’s listed phone number in Selbyville had been temporarily disconnected as of Wednesday and he therefore could not be reached for comment for this story.
According to police, the Dodge had pulled over to the side of the road just before 10 p.m. on Sept. 16 when Golphin approached and opened the passenger side for a still-unknown reason. When he opened the door, the driver of the truck accelerated and Golphin fell to the ground, a police release issued on Sept. 17 stated. The rear passenger side tires ran over Golphin, inflicting serious injuries, police said.
Golphin was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where he died of his injuries about 3 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 17. According to the state police release, witnesses last saw the truck – which has now been identified by police as Jamerson’s — heading toward Roxana Road.
Oldham said then that the mysterious nature of the incident makes it unique.
“That is very rare,” Oldham said in an earlier interview. “The way the crash occurred. He apparently fell down and was run over by the tires. That’s going to make it harder for this investigation, but there is obviously somebody out there that knows what happened.”
Suspecting there would have been no damage to a truck involved in such a vehicle-pedestrian accident is also rare, Oldham said in that same initial interview.
“I haven’t seen any where there’s a crash with a pedestrian where there’s not a whole lot of signs of damage,” Oldham said. “It’s obviously easier if there is damage done to the vehicle.”