Family and friends of Johnathen Stewart will be holding a candlelight vigil Saturday night at the spot the Enfield teenager was discovered after being struck by a hit-and-run driver exactly 10 years ago.
Stewart, 19, was walking home from a friend's house in the early morning hours of Nov. 17, 2002. A driver traveling on Route 5 near Fairview Avenue saw Stewart lying unconscious on the side of the roadway around 6 a.m. that morning, and called police.
Officers administered CPR to Stewart before he was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he died late the following night.
A police reconstruction and analysis of paint chips stuck to Stewart's clothing determined the young man was struck by a red 1987 Jeep Cherokee sometime between 2 and 6 a.m.
Despite an exhaustive investigation and rewards offered for information leading to the driver's identity, no suspect has ever been found.
Bambi York, Stewart's sister, wrote to Enfield Patch: "We are having a candlelight vigil for Johnathen Stewart at his memorial spot on the 10th year anniversary of his death. We are trying to make this big again and brought back up; we want it to spread and hopefully end up in the responsible person's hand. We were informed that this was an intentional act on my brother, and the person is still living their life while they took Johnathen's."
York indicated a great number of people have said they plan to attend the vigil, which is scheduled to begin around 6 p.m.
For more information, email bambiyork4242@hotmail.com.
