A gray Dodge Durango struck a man near 262 Chestnut Street in Union on Wednesday and sped off toward Roselle Park, leaving the victim with a serious head injury and police unable to even confirm who he is. The pedestrian, believed to be somewhere between 30 and 40 years old, remains hospitalized as investigators work to piece together what happened and track down the driver responsible.
Police Scramble to Identify Both Victim and Vehicle
Union Township police are searching for the hit-and-run driver and have asked the public for help identifying the person behind the wheel, according to NJ.com. Township police say they have been unable to confirm the pedestrian's identity, a detail that adds urgency to an already serious case. The outlet reports the Durango may have sustained front-end damage in the collision, giving investigators one of the few physical leads they have to go on.
Anyone with information about the crash, the pedestrian's identity, or the whereabouts of the gray Dodge Durango is asked to contact Officer Steve Beauduy at 908-851-5072, per the same report. Police have not released additional details about the driver or confirmed whether the Durango has since been located.
A Pattern of Unsolved Hit-and-Runs in Union County
This is not the first time Union Township police have had to appeal to the public after a hit-and-run left a pedestrian badly hurt. In August 2024, a 34-year-old Irvington man was struck by a Ford F-150 extended-cab pickup near Stuyvesant Avenue and Pleasant Parkway just before 8:45 p.m., the station's report noted at the time. That pickup fled toward Oakland Avenue, and police described it as having no bed cover, a chrome front bumper and two New Jersey license plates. News 12 reported that the pedestrian was in critical condition on September 4, 2024.
A similar scene played out just a few miles away in Roselle, where police searched for a driver who fled after striking a pedestrian on a Sunday evening, according to rlsmedia.com. That pedestrian was transported to University Hospital in Newark for treatment, and the outlet reported the vehicle involved had left the scene before officers arrived, with no vehicle description released.
Fatal Crashes Have Also Struck the Area
Not every Union County crash this year has ended with the victim surviving. Earlier in 2026, a 28-year-old driver was accused of drinking and speeding before striking and killing a 64-year-old pedestrian in Elizabeth, according to nj.com. The case underscores the stakes for pedestrians across the county even as statewide numbers tell a mixed story.
Statewide pedestrian fatality figures vary depending on the source. Figures from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General put pedestrian deaths at 230 in 2024 and 175 in 2025, a nearly 24% decline, while driver fatalities dropped roughly 15% over the same period. New Jersey Monitor, however, reported 691 total traffic fatalities across 655 crashes in 2024, including 223 pedestrian deaths — a figure the outlet said marked a 30% increase from the 171 pedestrian deaths recorded in 2023. The discrepancy between the two counts has not been resolved in available records. In response to the toll, the state created a 13-member Target Zero Commission aimed at bringing traffic fatalities down to zero by 2040, according to New Jersey Monitor.
For now, the Union case remains open, with police still working to identify the injured pedestrian and locate the Durango that left him behind. Residents with any information are urged to reach out to Union Township police as the investigation continues.
