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21-year-old college student from Massachusetts killed in Myrtle Beach hit-and-run
Jackson Yelle of North Eastham "will be forever remembered as a highly intelligent, athletically gifted performer."
A 21-year-old Massachusetts man was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Sunday, officials confirmed.
The victim was Jackson Yelle of North Eastham, a junior and club baseball player at Elon University in North Carolina, who was on a weekend trip at the time of the incident, the student-run news organization, Elon News Network, reported.
Myrtle Beach police confirmed in a release that a pedestrian was found unresponsive at the Highway 17 bypass north of 21st Avenue North on Sunday around 7:30 a.m. Investigators believe the man was fatally struck by a car while trying to cross the bypass around 1:30 a.m. — six hours prior to authorities arriving on the scene.
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Police later arrested Jason Todd Sauro, 45, of Myrtle Beach and charged him in the hit-and-run incident.
The victim’s father, Scott, told Elon News Network that Yelle “loved life, was always up for an adventure. People would find it easy to make a friendship with him.”
On Monday, hundreds of people from the Elon community gathered to remember Yelle, light candles, and share stories, according to Elon University News.
Many loved ones and groups have also shared tributes to Yelle on Facebook, including the Cape Cod Baseball Club and Riptide program, which noted that the North Eastham native had been a Riptide member from 2017 to 2019 and “will be forever remembered as a highly intelligent, athletically gifted performer.”
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The club continued, writing “Like Catfish Hunter, ‘The bigger the game, the better he played.’ He was the type of player that every coach dreams [of] having. He was the guy I went to to get a pulse on our direction. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Yelle family as they mourn the loss of their son, grandson, brother and nephew.”
An investigation into the incident remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-918-1382 and reference case number 23-004451.
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