Police are looking for the driver of a car that hit and killed Marine Sgt. Michael Andrew Tooley earlier this month in North Carolina.
Tooley, 28, was a combat engineer whose duty at the time of his death was as a drill instructor with the support battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, said Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Matthew Finnerty.
Tooley's commander, Lt. Col. Tracy Perry, said "the loss of any Marine under any circumstance is a tragedy, "The loss of any Marine under any circumstance is a tragedy, especially in this situation." and w
"We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Sgt. Tooley," said Lt. Col. Tracy Perry said. , commander of the support battalion at San Diego. "He was a stellar Marine and will be remembered for his dedication to the Corps and the men and women he served with, as well as those he transformed into the future generation of Marines."
During his 11 years in the Marine Corps, Tooley deployed four times: twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. His military awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Navy Unit Commendation.
Tooley was pronounced dead on the scene after being struck about 2:30 a.m. on July 16, said Master Trooper M. T. Bryan, with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. His body was found on Old Folkstone Road in Sneads Ferry. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to Tooley’s head.
Investigators do not have a description of the driver or the car that hit Tooley, Bryan said. Anyone with information about the hit and run is asked to contact the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
