20-year-old man hit, killed on I-95 in Hanover identified through DNA nearly 50 years later

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A 20-year-old man who was hit and killed on Interstate 95 near the town of Ashland in Hanover County in March 1977 has been identified through DNA nearly 50 years later.

On Wednesday, March 4, the DNA Doe Project announced that the Ashland John Doe, who was hit and killed by a truck on I-95 near Ashland at 2 a.m. on March 23, 1977, has been identified as 20-year-old Peter Adams, according to a release from the DNA Doe Project.

"I want to recognize the extraordinary investigative efforts undertaken by Trooper Ed Ryder and the agents who worked tirelessly in the late 1970s to identify Peter Adams," said Captain Brien Frey of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Richmond Field Office. "Although an identification was not possible at that time, their diligence, investigative methods, and commitment to this case were commendable and laid the groundwork for the answers we have today."

Officials initially said that despite having a "recognizable face," he could not be identified, though they determined that he was a white man between 20 and 25 years old, wearing blue jeans, a western-style shirt and a jean jacket.

The Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, where they determined that it was clear that the unidentified man had deep roots in Peoria County, Illinois, as well as recent Polish heritage, officials said.

After just over a week of research, investigators identified a husband and wife who both had familial connections to Ashland John Doe’s DNA matches. According to a release, the couple had six children, but Adams, the oldest child, "seemed to have dropped off the radar in the 1970s."

“The family tree in this case was complex,” said team co-leader Eryk Jan Grzeszkowiak. “In addition to dealing with pedigree collapse, we ended up needing to build family trees back to Poland, Germany and Switzerland amongst others.”

Records reportedly showed that Adams had attended high school in the Chicago suburbs in the early 1970s, but investigators said that "there was no evidence of him being alive past 1977."

Per a release, investigators discovered that Adams had gone missing on March 17, 1977, which was six days before the unidentified man had died on I-95.

"Further DNA testing facilitated by the Virginia State Police later confirmed that Peter Adams was indeed Ashland John Doe," a release states.

State police said they are grateful for the partnership between the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the DNA Doe Project, which provided some closure to Adams’ family.