Bridgeport police: Silver Pontiac Grand Prix is 'vehicle of interest' in pedestrian hit-and-run

Police responded to Stratford Avenue at Bishop Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday after calls about a man who was seriously hurt lying in the middle of the street.

Marissa Alter

Nov 16, 2023, 11:25 PM

Updated 366 days ago

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Bridgeport police are looking for a silver 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix as they investigate a hit-and-run crash that left a man seriously hurt Tuesday night. They said the vehicle of interest in the case is a rental car with Connecticut registration C312022.
Police responded to Stratford Avenue at Bishop Avenue around 10:30 p.m. after calls about a man who was seriously hurt lying in the middle of the street.
"This is a Bridgeport resident, 54 years old, and basically crying for help," Officer Andrew Orum told News 12.
Based on the victim's severe injuries, police believe a car drove into him and took off. They said there's no footage of the crash so far, but other things point to that sequence of events.
"We actually have one person who has a video of herself playing a video game, and she can hear tires screeching in the background suggesting a vehicle was going at a fast rate of speed and very quickly decelerated," Orum explained.
Police said the victim hasn't been able to tell them what happened. He remains in the hospital with severe injuries.
"I literally just heard about it, but it doesn't surprise me," said Matt McGee, who works at East End NRZ Market right by the intersection. "This road—it's known to have a lot of speeders. People are pretty reckless. I got into an accident over in this corner a couple years ago."
McGee pointed out there are no crosswalks in the area.
"Which is kind of crazy because a lot of people in this neighborhood, they don't drive. They walk where they got to go," McGee explained.
He said he's seen firsthand what that can mean.
"We do a farm stand every Sunday, so we've had numerous close calls of people trying to cross the street to our farm stand, and people are just going too fast," McGee said. "So, it's always been a problem."
"Stratford Avenue is a very busy street. It's one of our main roads in Bridgeport," Orum added. "It's congested with vehicle traffic and foot traffic, so there's a lot to look out for."
Anyone with information on Tuesday night's incident is asked to contact the traffic division at 203-576-7640 or andrew.orum@bridgeportct.gov or the Bridgeport Police Tips Hotline at 203-576-TIPS.