Teen Struck in Hit and Run Dies
Police are searching for a tan Nissan sedan with front end damage.
New Britain, hit and run, car, intersection, tremont
Surveillance video shows a group of people crossing the street in New Britain as a car speeds toward them and hits Jackson Dejesus. Residents in this area around Tremont and North streets in New Britain say cars drive dangerously fast through this area all the time.
A 17-year-old New Britain boy has died after being struck in a hit-and-run in New Britain on Monday night.
Jackson DeJesus was struck when he and a group of people crossed North Street at Tremont Street around 10 p.m.
He was in critical condition as of Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Hartford Hospital officials said DeJesus had died.
Police released surveillance video on Tuesday from moments before the impact took place and hope to find the driver.
Michael Dickson witnessed the crash.
“I heard the boom,” he said.
That impact left Dejesus lying on the road.
“The kid was on the floor and he wasn’t moving,” Dickson said.
Police said the vehicle that struck DeJesus was speeding in a 25 mile-per-hour school zone and didn’t stop.
“There were people crossing with him, and he was the last one and he got hit,” said Manny Vasquez, who also witnessed the hit-and-run.
Marieli Martinez said the crash has her shaken-up.
“I don’t feel like crossing the street anymore,” Marieli said.
Other neighborhood residents said speeding is a problem in the area.
“Yesterday … there was a car that definitely had to be going 100 miles,” said Jose Lopez.
DeJesus was a student at New Britain High School.
"Jackson was a very nice young man. Everyone at New Britain High School is saddened by his loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family," Michael Foran, principal of the high school, said.
The crash that killed DeJesus was the third hit-and-run in New Britain in under two weeks.
Police describe the car that hit Dejesus as a light-colored sedan, possibly an older model, tan Nissan Altima, with some damage on its right side.
Anyone with information is urged to call the New Britain Traffic Division at 860-826-3013.
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