VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NDHP) – The North Dakota Highway Patrol said on Saturday, December 20, 2025, dispatch received multiple 911 calls reporting a pedestrian walking along Interstate 94. Law enforcement made contact with the man and he
declined assistance. Additional calls continued to be received throughout the evening, with the last report to dispatch occurring at approximately 10:55 p.m.

On Sunday, December 21, 2025, at approximately 2:30 p.m., a passerby observed a body in the ditch near mile marker 282 some 8 miles west of Valley City. The North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Barnes County Sheriff’s Office responded and observed pieces of a vehicle consistent with a hit-and-run and located the pedestrian deceased in the same area. The victim is a 27-year-old man, his identity has not been released. The suspects hit-and-run vehicle has not been identified or located. The NDHP is asking for the public’s assistance looking for a vehicle with new damage that would have been in the area during the late-night hours of Saturday, December 20, 2025, or the early morning hours of Sunday, December 21, 2025.

A large portion of a vehicle’s bug deflector was found damaged and left at the scene west of Valley City. There may also be damage to the front and/or passenger side of the suspects vehicle.

If you have information related to this incident, please contact the North Dakota Highway Patrol at 701-328-2447 or via email: ndhpsafetyedu@nd.gov.

The crash remains under investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Other agencies assisting the Highway Patrol included the Barnes County Sheriff’s Office, and Barnes County Coroner.