December 10, 2018  |  04:16 pm

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Slidell man in a hit and run incident that occurred Friday evening.

At approximately 8 p.m. Friday (Dec. 7) STPSO deputies were dispatched to the area of Airport Road and Tiara Drive in Slidell in reference to a man who had been struck by a vehicle.

Responding deputies located an unresponsive male laying on the shoulder of the roadway. He was transported to a Southshore hospital, where he remains in critical condition, but appears to be improving.

Members of the STPSO Traffic Division recovered evidence at the scene that led them to believe the vehicle involved in the crash was a red Nissan Versa. While canvassing the area Monday afternoon (Dec. 10), deputies located a vehicle matching that description with damage consistent with the crash, parked at a residence on Bogie Drive.

The owner of the vehicle, Willis Barker II (DOB 1/22/1953) was located at the residence and taken into custody.

Barker was booked in to the St. Tammany Parish Jail on the following charges:
L.R.S. 32:58 Carless Operation of a Motor Vehicle
L.R.S. 14:39 Negligent Injuring
L.R.S. 14: 100 C(3) Hit and Run Driving (felony)