Police: Hit-And-Run Driver Runs Away On Foot From Late Night Crash

A parked car on the 1400 block of W. Wynnewood Road was hit in the early morning hours by a driver who left his vehicle at the scene and ran away on foot, Lower Merion Police said Friday.

The man was driving a black Ford Explorer, which was eventually towed from the scene. Police had not yet identified the Ford’s owner as of 2 p.m. Friday, though an investigation was underway.

Police said the owner of the parked car, a 2000 Mazda Vega, was notified of the collision, and that the car was disabled as a result of it.

The incident occurred between Athens and Spring avenues, in the midst of a stretch of W. Wynnewood Road that often sees parked cars hit by speeding and/or impaired drivers, police said, particularly at night. When the homes were built on that part of the road—which separates Ardmore from Wynnewood and runs roughly from Lakeside Road (to the east) to County Line Road (to the west)—the street was not yet a major thoroughfare. And despite most of the houses having driveways, street parking is permitted most of the time.

“I wouldn’t park there, I can tell you that,” said one township veteran officer. “Cars get whacked there all the time.”

As for the driver, police said he is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash, but if so, it’s a crime he will not have to answer to.

Especially since the car he hit was not occupied, any good DUI lawyer would advise a hypothetical client to leave the scene immediately, police said, because even though it is likely that the driver will eventually be caught and face stiff hit-and-run penalties, there would likely be no way to prove his condition at the time of the crash.

In the abstract, there is also no way to prove that the owner of an abandoned car was the one driving it.

But in the particular, with this case, police have not found anyone who saw the man when, or if, he was actually behind the wheel of the Ford.

So, the thinking goes, better to plead guilty, later on, to the serious charge of leaving the scene of an accident, and pay a hefty fine, than to be charged with the even more serious crime of DUI (and the long-lasting social stigma attached to it), police explained.

Whoever the driver was, he is lucky there was no one in the parked car, police said. Though DUI laws vary from state to state, if a driver hits a parked car that is occupied and flees, he would be charged with crimes commensurate with DUI-level penalties, including loss of driver’s license, heavy fines and a likely jail sentence, depending on the level of injury—or death—caused by the incident. That applies regardless of when he is caught (generally, there are no statutes of limitations on hit-and-runs), and regardless of whether or not he was actually under the influence, police said.

(Especially if the accident causes injury to another party, hit-and-run offenders would, in most jurisdictions, face much stiffer penalties than if they had stayed and attempted to render aid.)

Patch will update this story when more details become available, next week.

If you believe you have information regarding this incident, call Lower Merion Police at (610) 649-1000.