Police on Hunt for Driver of Hit and Run Vehicle

are asking for public assistance in identifying the driver of a car involved in a hit-and-run accident last Sunday, which has left a Dearborn resident hospitalized.

According to witnesses and confirmed by surveillance video, at 5:30 p.m. on June 26, a 79-year-old Dearborn resident–whose name was withheld upon request–was crossing Warren Avenue at Freda Street when he was struck by a light green, four-door Ford Escort, which was turning right from eastbound Warren onto southbound Freda. The car was estimated to be a 1997-1999 model.

After striking the pedestrian, the driver stopped momentarily to survey the scene, and then fled westbound into the alley.

Witnesses described the driver as a clean-shaven, white male, approximately 30 years old.

Video surveillance shows the hit and run accident at 7 minutes and 45 seconds in, after which the car stops briefly before speeding away.

Dearborn Sgt. Douglas Topolski of the Traffic and Safety Bureau said that the victim "has serious back injuries but is expected to live."

Police are confident that someone in the community will be able to identify the vehicle and driver.

"We feel the perpetrator probably lives in the neighborhood and someone knows he drives this car," Topolski said.

"The assistance of the community will be crucial in helping to locate this driver if he chooses not to contact us himself," said Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad. "We are fortunate that (the victim) did not suffer even more severe injuries."

Dearborn Police are asking members of the public who may have any information related to this crime, or who may know someone who owns a car matching that shown in the attached photo, to contact the Dearborn Police Accident Investigation Bureau at 313-943-2245.

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