Victim Of Hit-And-Run On Ritchie Highway In Critical Condition; Police Seek Suspect
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ)-- A man is fighting for his life after being hit by a car on Ritchie Highway in Anne Arundel County. Police are looking for the person who struck him.
Rochelle Ritchie has the plea from the man's family for that driver to turn himself or herself in.
Anne Arundel County police are hoping around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, someone saw the person behind the wheel of the vehicle that hit 57-year-old Michael Diegel.
"The vehicle did not stay on the scene. So we're asking the public to come forward and help us progress this investigation," Justin Mulcahy, spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said.
The victim was hit crossing the street on Ritchie Highway. He was wearing dark clothing. He didn't walk in the crosswalk, but they say he shouldn't have been left for dead.
The hit-and-run victim was rushed to Shock Trauma with injuries from head to toe, including bruised lungs, several rib fractures, two broken legs and injuries to his spine and head.
"He's under very heavy sedation," Ervin Diegel, Michael Diegel's brother, said.
WJZ spoke to the victim's brother who is hoping a guilty conscience will bring someone forward.
"I think of them more as a cowardly act to run away from something like this. I hope they can live with what they did," Ervin Diegel said.
Anne Arundel County police said that while they don't have an exact model of the car that caused the severe injuries, a preliminary investigation has narrowed it down to a 1997 to a 2005 minivan with possible damage to the front right turn signal, headlamp lens and windshield.
They have located a vehicle of interest in Baltimore City, but the driver has not been identified at this time.
"We're hopeful at this point that narrowing it down to and getting it out to the public, we can get a resolution in this case," Mulcahy said.
If you have any information, you're asked to call Anne Arundel County police.
