Police are searching for a driver who abandoned a Toyota Prius after fatally striking a man Thursday on I-280 in San Francisco, the California Highway Patrol said.
Emergency dispatchers received a report at 2:25 a.m. of a pedestrian in the center median of the freeway near Geneva Avenue, CHP Officer Mark Andrews said. Officers found a man who had been struck by a vehicle and the deserted Prius nearby. Firefighters pronounced the man dead a few minutes later, Andrews said.
Officers determined that the driver had run from the scene. The CHP is investigating the collision as a felony hit-and-run.
The victim has not been identified. It’s unclear why he was walking on the freeway.
The San Francisco Police Department tried to find the vehicle’s registered owner, Andrews said. CHP logs show an officer spoke to a family member of the owner. That relative allegedly told police that the driver admitted to hitting a pedestrian and was “scared,” the log shows.
The SFPD used a drone during the early morning, believing the driver was in the immediate area. All lanes were diverted at the 19th Avenue off-ramp during the investigation.
There have been 14 other pedestrian deaths in San Francisco this year, according to safety group WalkSF.
Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP San Francisco office at 415-276-5300.