Police Charge Baltimore Man in July Hit-and-Run

After a tip led officers to a Severn parking lot, Anne Arundel County police arrested a Baltimore man Wednesday in connection with a to the hospital in critical condition.

John Harrison Correlli, 57, of the 6700 block of Brookmont Drive in Baltimore was charged with leaving the scene of a collision that caused serious bodily injury without rendering aid, failure to remain on the scene of a collision, negligent driving, failure to return to the scene, failure of a vehicle driver to pass safely at a distance of at least three feet when overtaking a bicycle and failure to exercise care to avoid the collision with the bicycle.

According to a police press release, Marco A. Garcia was legally riding his bicycle north on Crain Highway near Georgia Avenue at about 7:30 a.m. on July 15, 2011, when police say a small gray sedan—possibly a Chevrolet or Saturn—traveling north on Crain hit the rear tire of the bike. Garcia was taken to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Residents were asked to look out for a white man with a beard wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a baseball cap driving a gray Chevrolet or Saturn with damage to the right front headlight area and windshield.

On July 18, 2011, police received a tip to check out a 2005 silver Chevrolet Cobalt, which was occupied by Correlli, in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart store located in the 400 block of George Clauss Boulevard in Severn. Police said the car had damage consistent with the accident.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the Cobalt and recovered a baseball cap, wire-framed glasses and a sample of suspected DNA evidence. On Dec. 29, 2011, police said DNA test results showed the sample taken from the car matched Garcia's DNA.