Butte, MT : Mary Elizabeth Merino, 32, died after fatal hit-and-run crash on Interstate 15 near Dillon on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2015

A man suspected in Wednesday’s fatal hit-and-run on Interstate 15 near Dillon is in police custody, authorities said.

The man in his late 40s was apprehended around 3 p.m. in Dewey, about 45 miles northwest of Dillon, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Ken Klapan said Wednesday afternoon. The man did not resist arrest.

Beaverhead County Deputy Coroner Julie Briggs identified the victim Wednesday evening as Mary Elizabeth Merino, 32, of Divide.

The cause of death is pending investigation by the state crime lab in Missoula, Briggs said.

The man, who was not identified, was driving a dark blue 2006 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle with license plates registered in Texas. According to Klapan, the man had been residing in Montana off and on for a period of time.

Merino was struck about 2:10 a.m. Wednesday. Law enforcement was on the hunt for a dark blue or blue 1999 to 2007 GMC Sierra pickup or a GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle, said Klapan.

Beaverhead County Sheriff Franklin Kluesner said it appeared Merino may have left a disabled vehicle and was walking southbound on the interstate toward Dillon before she was hit five miles north of the city.

The trooper attributed finding the suspect to “good cop work.”

Source:

UPDATE: Suspect arrested in fatal hit-and-run; victim ID'd

Butte, MT : Mary Elizabeth Merino, 32, died after fatal hit-and-run crash on Interstate 15 near Dillon on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2015