DNA from a 34-year-old marijuana joint helped identify the suspect in a 1989 hit-and-run death in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The News & Observer reports that on December 29, 1989, Ruth Buchanan, 52, was crossing the street in a crosswalk at North Tryon Street and Fifth Street when she was struck by a driver who ran a red light. The driver did not stop to render aid.
Buchanan was transported to Charlotte Memorial Hospital, where she ultimately died from her severe injuries, according to ABC News.
What began as a day of shopping with a friend for an upcoming New Year’s Eve trip to Florida ended in tragedy.
“Fifteen minutes after arriving, she lay dying on busy North Tryon Street — battered by a driver who ran a red light at 45 mph and never stopped,” The Observer reported.
A description of the car, along with the license plate number, was given to the police. Law enforcement learned that the car had been stolen from a dealership in Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sgt. Gavin Jackson.
A few days later, a report was received about a suspicious vehicle. Police responded to the tip at the Comfort Inn on the 4400 block of South Tryon Street and found a vehicle matching the witness’s description of the fatal hit-and-run. It was a dark blue 1990 Mitsubishi Galant with the license plate number provided by the witness, according to The News & Observer.
Evidence was collected from the vehicle, but nothing at that time led law enforcement to a suspect, so the case remained open for 32 years.
ABC reports that detectives received an anonymous tip in 2022 concerning Buchanan’s case. The caller provided information on who they believed was the driver, but after investigating, police determined the person was not involved.
According to The News & Observer, the investigation prompted by the anonymous tip led CMPD’s Crime Lab to conduct an extensive examination of various items, one of which was the joint left in the car. Jackson said the marijuana joint “was probably the best item to try and test for DNA.”
The DNA from the joint led investigators to identify Herbert Stanback, 68, who was incarcerated at a North Carolina facility, serving a 22-year sentence for an unrelated charge, according to ABC News.
Stanback was interviewed in March 2024 and confessed to being the driver of the vehicle. Investigators learned that Stanback was involved in a work-release program at the time of the incident.
Stanback was officially charged with felony hit-and-run resulting in death in June 2024.
“Very rewarding feeling, just to be able to notify the family of something like that,” Jackson said. “I was able to speak to Ruth’s son and bring that kind of closure to the family. It’s certainly not a phone call that they would have been expecting.”
“I think this stands as an example — of course, not every case is going to be solved this way — but you never know what’s going to happen 20, 30, or 35 years down the line,” Jackson added.
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[Feature Photo: Ruth Buchanan and Herbert Stanback/Handout;NC Department of Corrections]
