By James King
Thursday, Aug. 13 2009

At what point do you come to the realization that your car is a "clunker," and it might be a good idea to take advantage of the federal government's generous "Cash for Clunkers" program? How about after you run over a bicyclist, and need to get rid of the evidence?

Well, that's exactly what a Phoenix man might have done last Saturday night.

Police say that shortly after midnight on Saturday, 23-year-old Timothy M. Kissida was driving near the corner of Cave Creek Road and Mountain Gate Pass Road when he hit a man on a bicycle, killing him, and driving off.

According to authorities, the man, 52-year-old Charles Waldrop, was riding home from work when he was struck by Kissida's car.

In a matter of seconds, Kissida's '92 BMW became a "clunker."



Police say that the only evidence left by whoever had hit Waldrop was a fog light from a '92 silver BMW, and concluded that there would be extensive damage to the passenger side of the car.

Guess what came rolling into a Valley dealership later that morning: A '92 silver BMW with extensive damage to the passenger side.

When asked about the damage, Kissida told the car dealer that he hit a javelina. However, the dealer connected the dots, and called police, who determined that if the javelina Kissida mentioned was actually a person named Charles Waldrop, he might have been telling the truth.

Kissida was then booked into the Maricopa County Jail, and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with evidence.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/08/cash_for_evidence_police_say_a.php