Person Of Interest Taken Into Custody In Connection To Port Richmond Hit & Run
By Trang Do
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Police have taken a man into custody in connection with the deadly hit and run that occurred on Wednesday night in the city's Port Richmond section. Eyewitness News was there Thursday as police took the man, in handcuffs, into custody from a home they had been removing evidence from throughout the day.
Police are calling the man a person of interest. Authorities have also identified the victim, Tommy Dunbar, 35.
Dunbar was struck last night at the intersection of Lehigh and Aramingo Avenues and died as a result of the injuries he suffered.
His family and police were on the scene at the intersection of Cedar and Madison Streets throughout the day Wednesday, as they awaited a search warrant. That finally happened around 4:00 p.m. and that's when police took the person of interest into custody.
Tensions at the scene were very high as the victim's family lived just a few blocks away from the man taken into custody.
"He was one of the first people to say hello to me when I moved here," said Nicole Hart, a neighbor. "He was always very nice. Always said hello, how are you?"
On Wednesday night, police towed away a Pontiac Aztec from Cedar Street that was believed to be involved in the accident. Dunbar was riding a motor scooter when police say he was struck and dragged 200 feet by an SUV that did not stop.
In this tight-knit Port Richmond neighborhood, many people knew both the man taken into custody and the victim.
"He was a nice guy. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him," Hart said of Dunbar. "Everyone knows his family. He was a neighborhood guy."
An attorney representing the man taken into custody declined to provide his clients name, but says he was wrongfully arrested.
"He maintains his innocence," said D. Wesley Cornish, the man's attorney. "He did nothing wrong. He does not understand why the police would detain him in his house."
Dunbar's family says that he was on his way back from getting groceries when he was struck and killed. He leaves behind his parents, a younger brother and a large extended family.
