The Autopian has on multiple occasions been able to help law enforcement identify cars involved in hit-and-run incidences, so let’s see if we can put together our collective car-nerd-brains and figure out what this blurry white car is.
A reader named Thomas sent us this Facebook post by the Stark County Sheriff’s Office asking for information about a car involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Canton Township in Ohio.
“Stark County Sheriff’s Office Investigating Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash” reads the title of the post, which goes on to say: “CANTON, Ohio – The Stark County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred in Canton Township.”
It all happened on June 15 of this year at 10:40 PM, when a 39-year-old was “struck by a vehicle in the 1600 block of Shepler Church Avenue SW. The vehicle fled, leaving the victim fatally injured. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies believe the suspect vehicle is a white sedan with front-end damage, as shown in the posted photos.”
I reached out to the sheriff’s office, and Operations Division Commander Major Ryan M. Carver told me his team had “narrowed down the make and model to a handful of possibilities but are certainly open to suggestions. The photos that we have released are the best quality that we have to this point.”
Deputy Kurtis Johnson replied to that email with: “We also recovered a wiper, a 15-inch passenger side wiper blade on the scene. I took it to Autozone and they suggested a 2013-2017 Nissan Sentra, as it is the only similar vehicle whose manufacturer calls for that size.”
Take a look at the rest of the photos below. What do you think? Do you think it’s a Sentra?
What features can you identify in these blurry photos? You can see it’s a whit sedan with prominent orange parking lights up front, and the taillights seem to wrap pretty far forward towards the front of the car; the CHMSL also seems fairly high mounted, in keeping with the second two letters of its acronym. But there are lots of sedans whose features match these; is there something in these pictures that definitely gives this away?
very easy. Camry
I am with the Camry XSE crowd. Visual cues all seem to match up. Must say that those are the most grainy photos I have seen. Either camera resolution is really bad or it was taken from over 1000 yards away (or both).
My initial reaction was Camry. Then it moved to Malibu Maxx.
~2019 Toyota Camry XSE…the 15″ wiper blade is too small, but who’s to say 1) it’s from this car or 2) what unusual things a hit-and-run driver-murderer is capable of?
2018 Genesis G80
The motion blur and light overexposure makes the images inconsistent, but I can see the G80 in there if I try to normalize all the differences.
That nose screams PONTIAC to me, but I can’t make anything else fit as well.
As I look more closely, there seems to be a distinctive cut line behind the rear door. It looks like the rear door edge extends vertically to the wheel well, rather than wrapping around it as on most cars.
Tail lights, rear plastic splitter thing on the bottom, and white with black roof to me say it is a Camry XSE (or whatever trim level has that black roof).
I did some google image searching for the years of that make and model. It seems like a good visual match.
I believe it is a white 2002-2007 Toyota Camry. I owned a 2007 Honda Accord that had similar lights, but I believe the 2002-2007 Toyota Camry is your suspects vehicle. The lights are a better match. Before and after those years the lights were a different shape. I hope you get the suspect.
I haven’t seen this guess on here yet-I think this is a Pontiac G8. Passenger wiper blade size matches, to me the silhouette matches as well as the headlights and taillights. It also has it’s rear center brake light high mounted. It’s a pretty rare car which could be the reason the local autozone didn’t pick it up.
I like this. Chevy SS maybe applies as well
Second this! Fairly obscure car and everything matches pretty good visually as far as I can tell. The black roof thing has got to either be a result of the poor image quality or a modification made by the owner.
I think if just the roof of a G8 was blacked out, the relatively thin pillars/roof rails might be hard to make out in low quality night pics like that. This might explain why it looks so much like a Camry or Sentra
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UfHBFB6Gj9A/maxresdefault.jpg
The taillights look too big, extending into the middle of the car, to be a G8.
I agree with this. The CHMSL position is key. It’s high, so we can rule out any car that has it on the parcel shelf or trunklid. The G8 has a high CHMSL. The amber front parking lights and their position are correct. In a couple of photos, you can sort of make out a dark spot that looks like the G8’s fender vent behind the front wheel.
I thought it might be a first gen Lexus SC based on lights and side window shape.
Or maybe a first gen Lexus GS, but that is less likely based on the front light pattern.
Can they give you the running video instead of still images? I feel like this would be easier with video.
My first gut instinct is Camry XSE.
This was my thought immediately. Black roof was what got me.
^This
White late model camry xse w/ black roof. The rear lights and the front black “air ducts” all match even with the blur.
every fiber in my being is screaming Pontiac grand am or Pontiac grand Prix. Its for sure a pontiac!
https://images.autohelperbot.com/1G2WP52K8WF274431-1721185841486974.jpg
https://media.carsandbids.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1800,quality=70/20309e251cb7341d1fb94cb5d4546882260d2202/photos/3o68nx4g-UVLZgHXewX-(edit).jpg?t=171648509292
The headlights do have a resemblance, but seeing the taillights that wrap around that much along the side gave me pause
Turn of the century Gran Prix’s had them like that as I had the same thought.
The only thought I had was that if the roof is body body colored, it drops Pontiac…
I don’t get Sentra from these pictures. The taillights suggest Korean. Kia Forte maybe?
I’m thinking 2’nd gen mercury sable.
2018–2024 Camry XSE or TRD
I’d put money on it. Probably an XSE
https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/camry/2024/
Wiper size doesn’t match, but the wheelbase, dark roof, and greenhouse shape sure seem to line up.
So, I ran a photo through an AI prompt and it suggested a 2013-2018 Nissan Altima. And you know what? It kinda fits the description. Mostly focusing on the rear pillar of the car in my comparisons, but sadly it might fit the Big Altima Energy stereotype…
Other considerations are what appears to be flat/slab body, the style of door handles, and possible amber/red lighting on the sides of the car. For a while I thought maybe a ~2010 Legacy sedan but the rear pillar didn’t quite match up.
From the looks of it this car appears to be lowered. I say this because of the very last photo in the article. So maybe the cops just need to keep a keen eye out for a lowered white sedan from the last ~15 or so years.
I thought Altima as well. For me it’s the hoffmeister kink and the taillights seemingly extending on to the rear fender. But the taillight thing also looks like an exposure issue and the light might just be streaking.
To me it looks like a 2017ish Kia Forte. Rounded wrap around headlights, rectangular vent opening beneath the grille, amber turning signals mounted high relative to the headlights. Passenger side window is 14” though
It looks like the red pad can be used to approximate the length and wheelbase of the vehicle. I originally wanted to say Altima or Optima, but hesitated because the proportions are off. But the camera captured that driver turning on the red pad, which allows us to extrapolate the dimensions in the same way a 3D scanner interprets a surface
Don’t use the wipers as I used ones 4″ longer than oem because I am tall and the factory ones assumed I was 5′ 2″ with the seat all the way down. I recommended my sister buy slightly shorter as the driverside clicked on the a pillar on occasion.
So can’t imagine I’m unique or the vehicle is unique
This intent, can’t imagine that joerando finding they are out of his, buying the in-stock but “wrong” one.
You aren’t finding a Ford 8.8 axle in the ditch you are finding something that can fit many cars of all brands install by a potential moron getting it wrong.
My money is on a 2020-2025 Nissan Sentra SR with the factory black roof. The C pillar having white midway up then changing to black feels right.
The C pillar does not match the Sentra’s. If it were a two-tone SR, the “floating roof” would be black down to the haunch above the rear fender. Grille looks too small too.
This.
Could it be a Saturn Ion (front amber lights/close-set headlights/coupe-ish roofline)?
Headlights, at least with the streak of light, do look very Saturn. But the body looks so modern. Almost Camry like.
I had the same Saturn/Camry thought. Also possibly Olds Alero?
Yeah – I can see that being a Sentra…
https://www.customwheeloffset.com/wheel-offset-gallery/1696662/2017-nissan-sentra-enkei-t6s-bc-racing-coilovers-yokohama-avid-ascend-gt
Initially the headlights looked like a 7th gen Civic. However, the vertical line of the C pillar (best seen in the 6th picture) is definitely diagnostic of a 6th gen Sentra.
It looks like an Altima instead of a Sentra.
1. It appears longer and more proportioned like a mid-size sedan. The Sentra from this era is noticeably shorter and more upright.
2. The Altima has a more pronounced trunk lip and wider tail lights, which aligns with what we can see from the surveillance angles. The Sentra’s rear is more compact and squared off.
3. The headlight shape and beam throw in the images more closely resemble the swept-back headlights of the Altima rather than the more upright, rounded headlights of the Sentra.
4. The vehicle has a smoother, more coupe-like roofline that matches the Altima’s design in that generation. The Sentra has a steeper rear window and a taller profile.
If true, this would be the worst case of Big Altima Energy ever.