A deadly hit-and-run in southeast Memphis Tuesday left a pedestrian dead and a neighborhood on edge after, police say, a vehicle plowed into the victim and then took off. Officers later found a nearby car sitting empty, and two people who had been at the scene reportedly bolted on foot. The victim was pronounced dead where they fell, according to authorities.
As reported by FOX13 Memphis, Memphis Police Department officers were called to the 1400 block of Gill Avenue for a crash involving a pedestrian and found the victim already dead. Investigators say the vehicle that struck the pedestrian headed north from the scene and later turned up on Wilson Street with no one inside. Detectives are now looking for a man and a woman who took off on foot, though they have not released further identifying details about either the suspects or the victim as the investigation continues.
Police canvass neighborhood and review footage
Investigators have been walking the Gill Avenue blocks, knocking on doors and asking neighbors what they saw while also combing through surveillance and dashcam footage that might have caught the hit-and-run. Police are urging anyone with home, business, or in-car cameras to scroll back through their recordings and share anything that might help identify the vehicle or the two people who ran. Tips can be reported to CrimeStoppers at 901‑528‑CASH so detectives can follow up.
Crash patterns and safety context
The fatal hit-and-run lands in a city already wrestling with a reputation for dangerous roads. A Commercial Appeal driver’s guide has reported that Memphis ranks among the nation’s worst cities for deadly crashes. A separate map of crash hot spots based on Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization data shows hundreds of thousands of collisions across the region in recent years and highlights corridors where planners say concentrated fixes are urgently needed.
What to watch next
MPD says the case remains very much active, and that arrests or formal charges could come as new leads roll in. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901‑528‑CASH or contact the Memphis Police Department through its non-emergency line to share details that might help close the gap in this investigation.
