A man was hit and killed on Route 80 in North Branford Thursday by a driver who took off. It happened just hours after a man was hit and killed while trying to cross the Berlin Turnpike in Meriden Wednesday night.
Police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run in North Branford.
Officers responded to the area of 97 Foxon Road (Route 80) around 7:10 a.m. after getting a 911 call about an injured person.
Arriving officers found a man, David Horbal of North Branford, who was dead and appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. The vehicle left the scene, according to police.
It was not clear when the man was struck. Police shut down Route 80 between Totoket Road and the East Haven line as they investigated the incident. The road was closed for hours and reopened around 12:30 p.m., police said.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
The death marks the 17th pedestrian killed so far this year in the state, according to Watch For Me CT. The program aims to help reduce pedestrian and bicycle injuries and deaths through education and awareness.
“So far this year, we are at 17 pedestrian fatalities, which is on par with where we were at this time last year,” Amy Watkins, program manager at Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center, said. “Many hit-and-runs are occurring on our roadways each year and that is also something that doesn't appear to be going down.”
Hit-and-runs reduce a person’s chances for survival, she said.
Local
“Especially bad are hit and runs because there may be precious moments that are lost when a person could be helped or assisted in some way when emergency services could be called,” Watkins said. “When somebody leaves the scene, they take away that person's chance of getting help in those important minutes.”
She said the deadliest year for pedestrians was 2022 with over 70 people killed.
“It was a very terrible year and it has been heartening to know that in 2023 that was reduced to about 59 deaths,” Watkins said. “We haven't been able to reduce it to zero, which is our goal, but we hope that we are going in the right direction in bringing some of these deaths down.”
She recommends that drivers pay attention and be mindful for pedestrians or bicyclists, and that pedestrians opt to wear bright clothing, use sidewalks and walk towards the flow of traffic to see when a vehicle is heading towards them.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information that might help their investigation to call them at (203) 484-2703.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
