Tulsa Family Remembers Husband, Father Killed In Hit And Run Crash

Lori Fullbright, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma – News On 6 has learned the victim of a deadly hit and run on the Fourth of July was a disabled Army veteran.

Donald Anderson, 52, signed up for the Army at a very young age, because his father had been an Army man before him. He spent much of his time helping other veterans get their benefits and served on the board of the local DAV.

He was married and had four children: 25, 23 and two little ones, three and 18 months.

"He was a true, real man. I want people to remember him as a stand up guy, who took care of every responsibility he could, no matter if it was up or down, he stuck through it," Ashley Anderson, Donald's daughter, said.

His family says he loved to ride his motorcycle and was a cautious rider. He was headed to the store Monday night when the driver of silver Camaro pulled out in front of him.

Donald's bike hit the car and he went flying over the car and landed on the pavement. The driver took off.

"He was a person, he deserved more than that. He deserved more," Ryan Anderson, Donald's son, said.

Police found the Camaro hidden in a backyard on Tuesday afternoon and the driver, Robert Chiles, turned himself in Tuesday night.

7/6/2011 Related Story: Driver Of Car Involved in Fatal Tulsa Hit And Run Crash Arrested

Records show Chiles, who is 20, was arrested in June of 2009 for having a suspended license.

He got a ticket for speeding and driving with a suspended license in April 2011.  He got another ticket for driving with a suspended license in May 2011 and had gotten yet another ticket for speeding and driving suspended just a few weeks ago on June 22, 2011.

Now, he's been arrested for manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

And, a family is grieving for a man they say always made everyone laugh, who loved to solve problems and soak up knowledge from books.

"This was somebody who meant something to not only us, but to other people he knew. He had an impact on a lot of people," said Donald's wife, Michelle Anderson.

Tulsa Police said since 2009, with these tough economic times, in order to cut down on the city's cost of housing inmates at the jail, officers are encouraged to write tickets for suspended licenses rather than make arrests, unless there is something else going on, like the person has a warrant.