Arrest made in hit-and-run that killed Carver coach

A 19-year-old man has been charged in connection with the death of David Pollard, the Carver High School baseball coach who was killed two weeks ago in a wreck with a stolen vehicle just south of the school.

William C. Cross of Columbus was arrested at 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Value Place hotel at 1801 Victory Drive. He faces one count each of homicide by vehicle, felony murder and theft by taking auto, according to a report from Corp. Rosalyn Hall of the Columbus Police Department’s Hit-and-Run Investigation Division.

Cross is being held in the Muscogee County jail and is awaiting a hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday in recorder’s court.

The department said there will be no further comment until that day.

Pollard was killed on April 18 after a stolen Audi, allegedly driven by Cross, hit Pollard’s Chevrolet sedan at the intersection of of Buena Vista and Andrews roads.

A witness said he saw the collision and checked on Pollard, whom he couldn’t get out of the vehicle. He said he saw the other driver run away from the scene, heading south on Andrews Road.

At the time, the suspect was described as a black male in his early 20s who appeared to be around 6-foot-1 and weighing 145 pounds. He was wearing dark clothes and had injuries, officials said.

At his funeral on April 24, Pollard was remembered as somebody who reached out to young people in need.

“David was trying to save lives,” said his brother, Carlos Pollard. “Lives that have no color. ... David didn’t reach for the low-hanging fruit. He reached for lives that needed to be saved.”

Carlos said that included the driver of the stolen car that caused the wreck that took his brother’s life.

“I wasn’t mad,” Carlos said during the funeral. “It was just a kid who needed help.”

Staff writer Sarah Robinson contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Arrest made in hit-and-run that killed Carver coach."