(Updated: 5:13 p.m.) New evidence has been uncovered in an ongoing investigation after a driver allegedly struck and killed a jogger on Main Road in Laurel and then left the scene, according to Suffolk County police.
Jennifer Callaghan said Thursday that paint was found on her husband Jim Callaghan’s clothing that did not match the paint on the two cars that did stop after the accident. The paint, she said, is metallic blue, and indicates that there was a third driver who struck her husband and fled the scene.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and the Southold Town Police Department said Thursday in a release that they are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the drivers of the vehicles involved in the hit-and-run crash. Suffolk County Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Callaghan, 49, of Jamesport was killed on January 16 during the pre-daylight hours while jogging in dense fog conditions along Route 25. While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, it appears that Callaghan was struck by two westbound vehicles and that he may have been lying in the roadway when struck, police said.
Investigations revealed the possibility that Callaghan may have been struck by a third vehicle, as blue metallic and clear coat finish particles were removed Callaghan’s clothing. The paint particles, both consistent with vehicular paint, are not associated with two known vehicles in the case, police said. Investigators believe the blue metallic-colored vehicle, whose driver left the scene, struck Callaghan before the two known westbound vehicles or that he suffered some type of medical condition that caused him to be on the roadway when he was struck.
Callaghan’s wife said that while the accident is under investigation by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, investigators have said her husband’s cause of death was blunt impact to his head, torso, and extremities, not a medical condition.
“I don’t believe anything will bring ‘closure’ but I would love to see justice served for my husband. There isn’t a soul on earth who deserves to be left the way Jim was to die such a horrific death. I pray that someone comes forward with valuable information and we find the person responsible for this tragedy,” she said Thursday.
Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said earlier this month that the investigation is still active and ongoing; he added that the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s report had not yet been released.
As the investigation continues, Callaghan’s widow finds comfort and solace in memories as she faces the days without him.
On Feb. 22, Callaghan gathered with loved ones at Iron Pier in Jamesport to celebrate the third anniversary of the day they met, and to pay tribute to the man she said will live forever in her heart.
The group gathered on the beach with the urn containing his ashes and together witnessed a spectacular sunset. The evening marked the third anniversary after her first date with Callaghan.
Reflecting on her husband, Callaghan said, “We had quite the love story. We lived a lot in the short time we were together. We did everything together.”
The two would bring picnics to his marathons and races, enjoy free concerts in the park, and go for walks together every night.
Her husband was “a gentleman, in every sense of the word,” she said. “A comedian, with sharp wit. He was intelligent, devoted, a loving father of to his four children, a great friend. He was athletic, motivated and a motivator. I could go on and on and on. He was a little bit of everything.”
Asked if finding the driver that hit her husband would help to ease the pain and lead toward peace, Callaghan replied, “Hell, no. Nothing eases that pain. He died a horrific death and knowing that is the worst.”
Remembering the darkest of mornings, Callaghan said her husband wasn’t even supposed to have been jogging that day.
“It wasn’t even his plan,” she said. “The night before, we’d put our house on the market, and we went out to celebrate. He told me he would get up early to work on the computer.” Her husband, Callaghan said, was a business consultant who did freelance bookkeeping; she works as a project manager for Crescendo Designs.
The couple had a morning routine; he would get up and exercise or work in the office, and he would wake up Callaghan when she needed to get up.
“Before he went downstairs, he always kissed me and said ‘I love you,’” she said.
But that morning, Callaghan never came back upstairs to wake her.
“I got up and the house was empty,” she said. “I went looking for his car and thought maybe he’d gone to the gym, but the car was still there. That’s when I knew something was wrong.”
Using a find-a-friend app on her phone, Callaghan set out to locate her husband. “That’s how I found him,” she said. “I found the site, and the police stopped me before I could see him.”
Remembering the darkest morning of her life, Callaghan said, “It was your worst nightmare, multiplied by a million.”
On the weekend of an invitation-only memorial to her husband, almost 600 people came to her home. “It just proved the caliber of man he was,” she said.
The bond the couple shared is forever, Callaghan said. “He was the love of my life, and then some. I was very, very blessed, for no matter how much time I had him.”
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS, or call the Southold Town Police Department detectives at (631) 765-2600. All calls will be kept confidential.
