Hit-and-run scene near St. Joe’s University in Philadelphia (6abc)
An ongoing collection of unsolved hit-and-run cases, with a focus on car/pedestrian incidents, from across the country since Jan. ‘010. If you know something about any of these incidents, or one that I’ve missed, do the right thing and call the police, even anonymously.
Hit-and-run victim Lola Bella Cassidy
4361. Aurora, Ill. Nov. 7. 56-year-old man injured when struck by a blue or green vehicle which fled the scene.
4362. Sandy, Ore. Nov. 7. Man injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4363. Philadelphia, Pa. Nov. 8. 45-year-old man injured when struck by a which fled the scene.
4364. Blanford, Mass. Nov. 8. 31-year-old woman injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4365. Appleton, Wisc. Nov. 9. 61-year-old man on bicycle fatally struck by a dual-wheel red pickup truck which fled the scene.
4366. Washington, DC. Nov. 8. Woman fatally struck by a vehicle which fled the scene, driver later arrested.
4367. Easton, Pa. Nov. 9. 18-year-old woman critically injured when struck by a 1990s Jeep Grand Cherokee which fled the scene. (Update: Arrest)
Suspect in Easton, Pa. hit-and-run
4368. Seldon, NY. Nov. 9. Bicyclist injured when struck by a white SUV which fled the scene.
4369. Chula Vista, Cal. Nov. 9. Pedestrian injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4370. Amarillo, Texas. Nov. 10. Pedestrian fatally struck by a light-colored four-door sedan which fled the scene.
4371. Pasco, Wash. Nov. 9. Woman fatally struck by a maroon or dark Ford SUV which fled the scene.
4372. San Antonio, Texas. Nov. 10. Man injured when struck by a silver sedan which fled the scene.
4373-76. Grand Fords, ND. Nov. 10. Four pedestrians injured when struck by a vehicle which fled the scene; driver later arrested.
4377. Charlotte, NC. Nov. 10. Pedestrian injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
Related stories:
And I quote (I)…
Bond was set at $50,000 Friday for former Will County board member Michael F. Wisniewski on charges of failing to report a collision involving personal injury and leaving the scene of a collision involving a personal injury.
Wisniewski, 63, of the 0-100 block of Sanders Road in Naperville, allegedly struck a 48-year-old pedestrian on Wagner Road near Walter Lane around 7:45 a.m. Thursday.
Will County sheriff’s spokesman Ken Kaupas said two women walking dogs summoned police after hearing a thump as a car passed, and finding the injured man lying in the grass. Naperville Fire Department paramedics transported the man to Edward Hospital and Health Services in Naperville.
According to Kaupas, a relative of the injured man said Friday that the man was in intensive care with a brain injury but doctors “are confident he’ll recover.”
And I quote (II)…
A 19-year-old Norwood man accused of running down and killing a woman just outside her home and driving away without stopping was held on $10,000 cash bail in Stoughton District Court yesterday.
Timothy P. Ciriello pleaded not guilty to charges of leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in death after police said he hit 63-year-old Sandra Johnson while driving a white Mercury Grand Marquis on Chapman Street in Canton at about 6:20 p.m. Thursday.
And I quote (III)…
An emotional Juan Rodriguez struggled through tears Thursday as he described the hit-and-run crash that authorities say left his girlfriend and a man in critical condition.
“We were walking,” Rodriguez said. “I felt my hand go up in the air and I seen my girl fly in the air and the car just kept going.”
Rodriguez and his girlfriend, Sarah Lopez, 31, were walking to dinner at Whittier and Atlantic boulevards in East Los Angeles Wednesday night when a white GMC Yukon crossed into opposing traffic and onto the sidewalk, hitting Lopez, authorities said.
The car continued onto the sidewalk, crashing into a bus stop where 56-year-old Santiago Perez was sitting, pinning him down.
The wrong-way driver jumped out of his SUV holding a child and fled the scene. The California Highway Patrol has identified that driver as Pedro Velasquez, of Cudahy.
And I quote (IV)…
Friends of one hit-and-run victim in St. Paul plan a memorial service for her next week. Family members of another are planning a fundraising event for him next month.
And St. Paul police are seeking information that will help identify the drivers who left the scene of accidents that killed one pedestrian and permanently injured another in recent weeks.
And I quote (V)…
Police say a 24-year-old doctoral student had a blood alcohol level more than three times above the legal limit when he veered into a bike lane in Boca Raton and hit a bicyclist, killing him.
After the crash in the 6700 block of North Federal Highway, Drew Blazure kept driving, then left his bloody, smashed-up car parked at a stoplight and stumbled to a gas station. In the U-Gas parking lot, he climbed into a stranger’s car, where he threw up and then passed out until cops arrived, according to a Boca Raton police report.
A mile away, 41-year-old Tim Van Orden laid on the side of the road, his bike and body torn apart.
And I quote (VI)…
A motorcyclist was killed early Saturday morning when he lost control of his 1985 Honda while traveling north on Blue Lick Road and struck a guardrail and was then run over by another vehicle.
Police said the motorcyclist, identified by the Jefferson County coroner’s office as Brandon Grigsby, 25, was thrown from his bike and landed on the pavement. He was then struck by a 2006 Hummer, which then hit the motorcycle and dragged it 2.5 miles.
And I quote (VII)…
Hit-and-run crashes are increasing in many major cities, and hit-and-run fatalities are rising nationally as legislators in several states look to toughen laws to address this troubling “plague.”
These crashes have reached such epidemic proportions in Los Angeles that, during one recent year, nearly half of all collisions in the city involved a driver who fled the scene.
Crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that the number of fatal hit-and-run crashes is trending upward, from 1,274 in 2009, to 1,393 in 2010, to 1,449 in 2011, the most recent year for which statistics were available.
Perhaps more significantly, the 13.7% increase in hit-and-run deaths over that three-year period occurred while traffic deaths overall were falling 4.5%, from 33,883 in 2009 to 32,367 in 2011.
“The problem is bigger than I think most people are aware,” says Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … Bellevue, Wash.; Snow Hill, Md.; West Sacramento, Cal.; Cape Coral, Fla.; Canton, Mass.; Mesa, Az.; Oakland, Cal.; Lincoln, Neb.; Denver, Colo.
More hit-and-run stories, including every volume of Hit-and-Run America (in reverse order), are accessible from this linked page. (The full Volume-by-Volume list will appear sporadically from now on.)