Update: Myrtle Beach man arrested in hit-and-run that killed NC student thought he hit deer
A Myrtle Beach man arrested in the hit-and-run accident April 30 that killed a North Carolina college athlete thought that he had hit a deer, a police report says.
Myrtle Beach Police charged Jason Todd Sauro, 45, May 1 with traffic/hit and run resulting in death, according to a Facebook post.
Jackson Yelle, a 21-year-old student at Elon University, was killed in the hit-and-run accident while apparently trying to cross the road at Highway 17 Bypass north of 21st Avenue North, police said.
He was on a weekend trip in Myrtle Beach at the time.
Yelle was found on the side of the road near the Hollywood Wax Museum, a police report said.
From January 1 through Dec. 31 of last year, Horry County had 25 pedestrian fatalities, according to the South Carolina Public Safety. So far this year, there have been three.
Documents from Sauro’s bond hearing May 1 stated that video from city cameras showed the vehicle involved in accident. Sauro admitted that he was driving the vehicle at the time and thought he had hit a deer. Sauro continued without stopping after hitting Yelle, the report said.
Police located the vehicle by its South Carolina license and found the vehicle at Sauro’s address, police said. The vehicle had matching damage that related to the accident.
Yelle was in Myrtle Beach for a social trip with other baseball teammates and not part of a school event, an official said May 1.
Yelle, of North Eastham, Massachusetts, was part of a Club Baseball Team, which is different from the Elon Univerity’s varsity baseball team, according to Owen Covington, assistant vice president for strategic communications and media relations.
Club Baseball is an intercollegiate baseball organization that travels across the country to play other club teams. However, it doesn’t appear that Yelle and his team members were in Myrtle Beach for a game, Covington said.
The junior was on a weekend trip in Myrtle Beach, according to an April 30 statement on the North Carolina school’s website from Jon Dooley, vice president for student life. Yelle was a business analytics major and statistics minor, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Since the accident, tributes have been pouring in about the 21-year-old on social media.
Yelle, called “JT” for short, was described as a funny and goofy guy with a big heart and who loved the game of baseball.
The Cape Cod Baseball Club posted on Facebook, “Jackson (JT) Yelle from N. Eastham and former Riptide member (2017-19) will be forever remembered as a highly intelligent, athletically gifted performer. ... He was the type of player that every coach dreams on having. He was the guy I went to to get a pulse on our direction.”
“Words cannot describe how much our family will miss you. This senseless tragedy has taken you from us way too soon. Jackson, you will forever be in our hearts,” Elon’s Club Baseball team posted on Instagram.
Yelle’s father commented on the team’s post April 30, saying, “Our family thanks you all so much. We Appreciate all the kinds words. We will be on campus tomorrow and would love to gather the group so I can say a few words to you all.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 3:15 PM.
