Man convicted of killing 8-year-old boy with car in Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Virginia Beach man was convicted Tuesday of killing an 8-year-old boy with his car in Chesapeake.

Tears flowed from the eyes of family members in the courtroom. This news of 8-year-old Forrest Hooper, who took his own life very quickly last year, relieved his relatives.

Richard Humbert’s guilty verdict comes a year after the fatal hit-and-run on South Battlefield Boulevard.

In October 2023, police said they found a boy named Forrest Hooper seriously injured after being hit by a car. Hooper died in the hospital where he was taken.

Two days later, police arrested Humbert and charged him with hit-and-run resulting in death.

Court documents say Humbert did not stop after hitting the boy, but later pulled over to check his car for damage. He told detectives he thought he hit a deer.

A jury Tuesday night found him guilty of hit and run causing serious injury or death.

Forrest’s grandmother, Cindy Lutz, said he will sleep well tonight for the first time in a long time.

“It was tough, you never know what to expect, you never know how the jury is going to react, it was stressful, very stressful, but I’m glad I decided to sleep tonight,” Lutz said.

Check out previous coverage: Man accused of hit-and-run killing of Chesapeake boy ‘thought he hit a deer’

Man charged in hit-and-run that killed Chesapeake boy told detectives he thought he hit a deer

Check out previous coverage: Mistrial declared for man accused of hit-and-run death of 8-year-old Chesapeake boy

Mistrial declared for man accused of hit-and-run death of 8-year-old Chesapeake boy

The case was declared a mistrial in September after prosecutors said jurors improperly explored the matter and discussed it outside the courtroom.

A crew from News 3 was in court during today’s hearing. This article will be updated accordingly with more information.