BOSTON (WHDH) - A man accused of driving away after fatally hitting an elderly pedestrian with his SUV in a Commonwealth Avenue crosswalk is due in court Thursday.
Phocian Fitts, 23, of Brighton, is expected to be arraigned in Brighton District Court on charges including motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, according to Boston police.
Officers responding just before 1 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a pedestrian struck in the area of 1316 Commonwealth Ave. found a man in his 80s in the road.
The man, whose name has not been released, was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the impact of the collision knocked the man out of his shoes and threw him into the air. Witnesses said the driver of the Jeep that hit him fled the scene.
“The poor guy was in the crosswalk and someone took his life and fled,” Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said at the scene.
Fitts was located a short time later on Fidelis Way and was taken in for questioning. He was formally arrested late Wednesday night.
Fitts’ mother told 7News that her son fled the scene because he was frightened.
“He told me that he ran and he was so scared,” she said.
The area was cordoned off with police tape for several hours Wednesday evening while investigators canvassed the scene.
The crash is under investigation. Anyone with information regarding the hit-and-run is asked to call Boston police detectives at 617-343-4470.
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