Poplar Bluff police investigate truck possibly involved in hit and run

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Investigators are processing a black Ford pickup truck for evidence possibly linking it to a hit-and-run accident last week that killed a Poplar Bluff teenager.

Based on a witness' description, authorities had been searching for a late model Ford F-150 pickup, described as a 4X4 crew cab, with four doors, a short bed and "bright white headlights."

Heavenly Grace Hafford, 13, died of blunt-force trauma after being struck by two vehicles at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 9 as she was crossing Kanell Boulevard near the Maud Street intersection.

The junior-high student was walking home with a friend. She had been to Mansion Mall to buy shoes for an upcoming school choir recital and was returning home at the time she was hit.

The first vehicle, which allegedly struck the teen, was found shortly after the crash, and its driver, Randal Sparks, was arrested.

The 42-year-old Poplar Bluff man subsequently was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with physical evidence.

During the last week, officers have checked about 60 trucks, said Donnie Trout , deputy chief of the Poplar Bluff Police Department.

"We had people searching (the department's) record-management (system) for black Ford trucks" and checking addresses, Trout said.

Officers also had been stopping and checking trucks fitting the description, he said.

Trout said officers have "located the second vehicle involved in the accident, and at this time, it is being processed for physical evidence."

The truck, which "matches the description of the second vehicle," as reported by the witness, was found Tuesday afternoon, Trout said.

Details about where and how the truck was found are not being released at this time, Trout said.

The truck is being processed by Missouri State Highway Patrol and police investigators, he said.

Trout said the truck initially was taken to the patrol's Troop E Headquarters for processing and now is in the police department's Criminal Investigation Division garage for further processing.

"The recovered evidence will be sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's crime lab for forensic examination," Trout said.

It is not known when those results will be returned to the police department.

"Forensics, to get the results from the crime lab, because of it being backlogged and the actual process, takes time," Trout said.

According to Trout, this remains an "active investigation, and we are pursuing all leads in an attempt to bring the suspect to justice.

"We encourage anyone with information concerning this investigation to contact the Poplar Bluff Police Department at (573) 785-5776."

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.