Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who they say hit and killed a 100-year-old man in a popular Oakland pedestrian area.
It happened at about 7 a.m. Sunday at 19th and Harrison.
It’s a busy intersection for cars and a very popular walking area for thousands of people daily with Snow Park and Lake Merritt walkways right next door.
A citizen shot a video not long after it happened and it showed the 100-year-old Asian man’s body covered about 35 feet from where he was hit in the crosswalk.
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Oakland police confirmed it’s being investigated as a fatal hit-and-run and that the elderly man suffered severe head trauma.
Some people who were out walking Sunday morning were shocked when they came upon the crime scene.
“I saw the body of a dead man,” said Robert Larios of Oakland.
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The elderly man’s cane was still on the edge of the crosswalk at the intersection and Larios said it pains him to think about how it happened and how fast the car must have been going.
“The body was like three lengths of a car down there, and there was some blood and parts of a car around here,” he said.
Oakland police said the hit-and-run driver was in a white or tan Mini Cooper that sped away, but said Monday they’re unable to give more details or share video or images.
Neighbors said constant speeding through the busy intersection and sometimes running red lights is a chronic issue.
Shannon Taylor said she’s always concerned when she’s walking her dog out there, because cars do go so fast. She said she has to keep her head on a swivel at all times.
“Especially late at night, there’s people almost getting hit, especially dog walkers,” said Taylor.
She worries for herself and her dog Harland. And after so many close calls, it may have been just a matter of time before something this tragic eventually happened.
“It’s scary. I’ve never seen an accident since living out here, but I’ve definitely seen people really blow through these lights,” she said.
OPD is asking anyone with information to share it with the department’s traffic investigation unit.
