Police searching for driver of a U-Haul truck after hit-and-run leaves woman in critical condition
Pittsburgh police are now trying to track down a man accused of running over a woman while he was driving a U-Haul truck in Homewood South.
According to police, they found the truck abandoned a couple of miles away.
The truck and an SUV were in a crash at Brushton and Hamilton Avenues but the crash isn't the reason the woman was taken to the hospital.
"I said there's something a little more sinister to this than a stolen truck," one witness said.
Witnesses told police that the man driving the U-Haul caused the initial crash by running a red light and at that time, the woman driving the SUV got out and started arguing with the man driving the truck.
"The adult male driver of the U-Haul truck took off from the scene, injuring the 70-year-old woman in the process," said Eliza Durham, Pittsburgh Public Safety Information officer.
The woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition while a man who was riding in the SUV with her was also taken to the hospital to be checked out of an abundance of caution.
Police said they were able to track the U-Haul to Wilkinsburg using license plate readers - finding it at a dead end on Clark Street.
"I was in my window and before I saw the truck, I heard it," recalled another witness, this one in Wilkinsburg. "I was like, what is that, who is coming up here like that, you could tell he went through the stop sign because of the rate of speed he was coming at."
The witness said someone who lives on the street blocked the U-Haul from getting out so the driver decided to abandon it and run into the woods.
"He ran down, I don't know how they didn't catch him," the witness said. "I mean, it's winter, all the trees are bare."
Police have not yet identified the U-Haul truck driver and are continuing to investigate.
