MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police are searching for a suspect and a stolen vehicle involved in a deadly hit and run Friday night.
Officials said a 46-year-old pedestrian was killed after he was struck by a stolen vehicle near 46th and Lisbon. He was later identified as Eric Clinton.
The crash happened around 10:35 p.m. and involved a stolen red Pontiac G5 two-door vehicle. Milwaukee police said the license plate on the vehicle is 271-TEW.
Now, MPD is asking for the public's help in finding the vehicle and asking anyone who sees it to call them at 414-935-7431.
TMJ4 News was able to view a brief moment on surveillance video of people rushing to help the man who had just been hit. The small business nearby did not share the video.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office reports that surveillance video showed the man walking in the lanes of traffic. "A blur of a red vehicle was seen coming off the freeway, swerve, then speed off," according to the ME.
Another business owner and a neighbor say the man hit was a homeless panhandler in the area.
They said many homeless people congregate just around the block. Some of them get hot meals on North Ave. at Tricklebee Cafe, a local ministry.
"It's devastating to me that someone could do that, and drive away, even if it was an accident. And just leave the scene. But it happens a lot," said Christie Melby-Gibbons, the cafe's executive director.
Melby-Gibbons said she hopes the man killed is not one of her regulars.
"It's tragic that lives are not valued as much as other lives. And that often homeless neighbors are overlooked, but also maltreated," she said.
At Tricklebee, anyone can get a free meal for whatever cash you have in your pocket. Some neighbors pick up trash in the area and on the ministry's grounds in exchange for a hot plate.
It's a place where people know your name, unlike a dangerous, deadly intersection.
