A not guilty plea was entered Wednesday in a Lexington courthouse on behalf of Riley Coston, 21, who is charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that killed a 19-year-old pedestrian.
Coston is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death or serious physical injury and tampering with physical evidence. His bond was set at $100,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 24.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office said recent Holy Cross High School grad, Chance Lee Martin, died at 4:35 a.m. Sept. 13, 2026, in the area of 601 East High Street. The coroner listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force traumatic injuries due to a motor vehicle collision.
An arrest citation alleges Coston left the area without stopping to render aid or contact authorities. Investigators say he later drove to a secluded farm property to dispose of evidence and then moved the vehicle to another location in an attempt to hide it.
LINK’s media partner LEX NEWS was in Scott County on Monday when the vehicle was towed from a property along Paris Road.
The Lexington Police Department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit led the investigation that resulted in Coston’s arrest. Lexington police credit Flock cameras with helping them identify the vehicle involved.
During Coston’s arraignment, Fayette Circuit Judge Diane Minnifield noted that he already has a pending case before her.
“In my court, over in circuit court, you have a case pending with me,” Minnifield said. “Which is probably not the smartest thing to do, to get a new charge while you have one pending.”
Court records show Coston was indicted at age 19 on kidnapping and related charges. According to a criminal complaint in that case, Coston drove a man to a location where two masked individuals allegedly assaulted the victim. The complaint further alleges Coston later drove the man near a river, struck his hand multiple times with a hammer and threatened to kill him if he reported the incident to police.
Records show Coston had been free on conditional release in that case until the judge revoked his bond following his latest arrest.
