A man struck by a vehicle near 31st Drive and Northern Avenue in Phoenix died at a hospital Thursday night, and the driver who hit him never stuck around to help. First responders were called to the scene just before 7 p.m. after a report that a person had been hit by a car, and the driver was gone before officers arrived.
According to AZ Family, the Phoenix Police Department reported that officers found a man seriously injured at the scene and took him to a nearby hospital, where he later died. Detectives believe the man was crossing Northern Avenue outside of a crosswalk when he was struck, the station reports. Police have not released a description of the vehicle or the driver, and as of now, the man has not been publicly identified.
Spanish-language outlet Telemundo Arizona reported additional detail on the emergency response, noting that police and fire crews arrived at around 7 p.m. after receiving a report of a crash between a vehicle and a pedestrian. Officers located an adult pedestrian at the scene and immediately began resuscitation efforts before he was taken to the hospital, per that outlet's account.
Investigation Remains Open as Police Seek Tips
The hit-and-run investigation is open and ongoing, and authorities are asking for the public's help identifying the driver who fled. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Phoenix Police Department at (602) 262-6151 or Silent Witness at (480) WITNESS, with Spanish-speaking tipsters directed to call (480) TESTIGO.
This is not the only unsolved hit-and-run Phoenix police have been working this fall. On Sept. 28, police said 53-year-old Jana Stovall was killed in a hit-and-run crash near Interstate 17 and Indian School Road, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. Investigators in that case believed Stovall was crossing the street, not in a crosswalk, when she was hit by a westbound vehicle, and she was pronounced dead at a hospital after the driver fled.
A Pattern of Drivers Who Don't Stop
Just a day before the Stovall crash, another fatal hit-and-run struck near 67th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road in west Phoenix, just after 2 a.m. on Sept. 27, FOX 10 Phoenix reported separately. In that case, officials identified the suspect vehicle as a 2011-2014 Granite Crystal Metallic Dodge Charger with driver-side damage, saying the driver continued north on 67th Avenue after the collision.
Under Arizona law, a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield the right of way to vehicles on the roadway, according to Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-793. Detectives' belief that the man was crossing outside a crosswalk during Thursday's crash is still one piece of an active investigation that has yet to produce a vehicle description, a driver, or even the victim's name.
