Woman left severely traumatised after finding a man’s face at a car wash

A WOMAN has detailed the shocking moment she found part of a man’s face lying on the ground at a car wash. WARNING: Graphic content

Gruesome discovery made by car wash customer

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

PART of an elderly man’s face was found on the floor of a car wash, after he was killed in a hit-and-run, court documents reveal.

The 81-year-old victim was left on the road in rural Montana and the initial accident, when his body was run over by another motorist, who tore off part of the man’s face with their vehicle.

They then got the car cleaned at Super Car Wash in Livingston, where the remains of the face was left on the floor of the wash bay.

It was only discovered after a vet, Kimberley Kriege, saw it when she went to get her own vehicle washed, Courthouse News Service reported.

The incident happened on September 30, 2013, but has only come to light now because Ms Kriege has taken legal action against the trucking company CRST Expedited that struck Alaskan man Elgie Bedford.

She is seeking medical expenses and damages for lost income, negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

He was travelling to see his grandchildren in Texas but his car ran off the road. According to the lawsuit he was walking along the highway when he was struck by a CRST truck driven by David Welk, The Missoulian reported.

According to court documents seen by Courthouse News and tendered to Gallatin County Court, Ms Kriege said Welk turned around after the impact and thought he’d seen clothing on the road — in fact it was Mr Bedford’s body.

Welk was eventually arrested when a colleague who was with him reported they had hit something. The colleague was asleep in the truck and told police Welk got out and had a look, but dismissed the object as clothing. However, he remembered Welk was very nervous and upset by whatever he’d seen on the dark highway.

Ms Kriege said Welk should have called police but just “left the body on the highway, knowing that someone could be held responsible for the hit and run death”.

It was found several hours later but, by that time, he had been hit by at least one other car. That driver is named in court documents as 31-year-old Wryan Young, who washed her car at the car wash and “left a large portion of Bedford’s face on the car wash floor,” Mr Kriege’s lawsuit says.

The face was left there until it was seen by Ms Kriege — who says she has been left badly traumatised and required counselling.

It was apparently large enough to be clearly recognisable as “part of a human face”.

To make matters worse, she claims police treated her like a criminal when she phoned them to tell them what she had found.

Park County Coroner Al Jenkins was seen vacuuming water from a floor drain at the car wash, then searched through the vacuum filter looking for evidence.

Welk was convicted in 2014 to a six-year suspended jail term after he was given credit for the year he spent in custody, reported ABC Montana.

Ms Young was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence. She maintained she thought she hit clothing left on the ground and charges against her were eventually dropped.

Originally published as Woman left severely traumatised after finding a man’s face at a car wash