Hit-and-run in Lodi, NJ: police seek Hyundai Tucson driver who fled after striking man

A man was struck by a dark SUV in Lodi, NJ, just after 2 a.m. and hospitalised with serious injuries. Police are appealing for witnesses to identify the driver.

Lodi hit-and-run: driver flees after knocking down pedestrian on Passaic Avenue

A man was struck from behind by a dark SUV in Lodi, New Jersey, in the early hours of the morning and left with serious injuries after the driver fled the scene, abc7ny.com reports.

The victim had just finished a night shift and parked his car on the street shortly after 2 a.m. when the collision occurred. Detective Fausto Caamano of the Lodi Police Department described what surveillance footage captured: "He parked his vehicle on the street. As he's crossing the street, it appears he was struck from behind by an unknown dark SUV vehicle."

Video shows the man being thrown by the force of the impact. The driver — described as a woman — then briefly stepped out of the vehicle and spoke with the victim before returning to the car and accelerating away down Passaic Avenue at high speed.

"It looks like a female driver exited her vehicle. She briefly converses with the victim before returning to her vehicle and just fleeing at a high rate of speed down Passaic Avenue here in Lodi," Caamano said.

Despite the force of the collision, the victim managed to get back to his feet. He walked home and contacted emergency services himself. Caamano confirmed he was transported to a local hospital, where he was found to have sustained serious injuries. He has since been released and is in stable condition.

Investigators believe the vehicle involved is a Hyundai Tucson SUV. High-tech equipment was used to analyse the available footage, but police have been unable to read the licence plate. Additional cameras in the area captured the SUV speeding away from the scene.

Footage also shows a second driver stopping at the scene after the crash, and a third driver travelling in the opposite direction who witnessed the victim on the ground. Police are urging both of those drivers, as well as anyone else with relevant information, to come forward. Those providing information may do so anonymously.

"If you have any information — a make, a model or anything on the driver or any type of description that can possibly assist us in just moving this investigation forward, it would immensely help us," Caamano said.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)