Charlie Sybrant and her friend, Joshua Gajus, had run out of gas and were walking along the on-ramp around 2 a.m. when she was hit.
Sybrant died at the scene of accident. Gajus sustained injuries to his leg, and the driver of the car that hit them fled the scene of the accident.
About an hour later, a Valdese police officer stopped a 2003 Chevrolet Impala for suspicion of driving while impaired.
The driver, Daniel Thomas Whisnant, 18, of Lenoir, was arrested.
Two days later Whisnant's passenger, Joey Lee Durham, 20, of Collettsville, was arrested and charged with felony accessory after the fact and given a $5,000 unsecured bond.
Durham was riding in the front passenger seat of Whisnant's car, according to officials with the Hickory Police Department. He was arrested for not reporting the accident.
Sybrant's father, Michael Sybrant, praised the Hickory Police Department for its work on the case.
"Law enforcement has been great. They've really gone the extra mile on this," he said.
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