Help me find a hit and run driver
April 12, 2010 12:13 PM   Subscribe

On saturday, the family of a friend of mine was killed by a hit and run driver on I-55 outside of New Orleans. My question is; Do you have any ideas how we can raise awareness of this accident, locally, so we might find the hit and run driver?
posted by razorian to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)
 
Have you tried contacting the local television stations? Local TV loves to exploit this sort of tragedy, and though it's distateful, having someone from the family sit down for an interview and ask for anyone who knows anything to come forward might be an effective and free way to get people's attention.
posted by dortmunder at 12:23 PM on April 12, 2010


Try to nab witnesses who drive that route on a daily schedule -- i.e. who are passing the spot at 6:30 pm. You would do this by putting up a sign during the 6-7 pm hour. Not like a flimsy yard-sale sign with ballpoint pen, but a LARGE sign with bold, readable letters, asking for information or tips. If there's a chance it might be taken down or vandalized then affix it to the side or back of a van and park it in that spot, and be there with the vehicle if necessary. Time is of the essence since 2 days have already passed. Unfortunately it was on a Saturday so there wouldn't be many commuters, but some people have routines even on weekends and that would be your best shot.
posted by crapmatic at 12:25 PM on April 12, 2010


Definatley local TV, Twitter, FB, if you can cheapy post a website with details.

An acquaintance of ours was involved in a H&R. Unfortuantely he was the mystery H&R. He's looking at a felony now. They found him via the local newspapers detailing where the accident occurred, what the damage on the car was, and the fact that it was done to a state trooper.

I'm very sorry for your loss.
posted by stormpooper at 12:28 PM on April 12, 2010


Are there any traffic or surveillance cameras (liquor store, gas station, etc.) near the accident site?
posted by rhizome at 1:18 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


I am so sorry that this happened. It's probably a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to put up some messages on New Orleans Craigslist. You theoretically reach a lot of people with a little bit of legwork. I hope they find the person that did this.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 1:35 PM on April 12, 2010


Here in NJ on route 78, someone rented an actual advertising billboard for >6 months near the location of an accident offering a reward for witnesses of the accident on X date at Y time.
posted by de void at 2:03 PM on April 12, 2010


You might (if the police are okay with it; you obviously don't want to interfere with an ongoing investigation) consider printing out some sort of bulletin with as much detail about the car as you can gather, and distributing it to all the local dealers and body shops that you can find. Just a guess but I'd lean towards shady / low-cost shops first, since it's unlikely that a person trying to get the damage repaired is going to want to report it to their insurance company.

I have heard about car-vs-pedestrian hit-and-runs getting discovered when the driver attempts to get their car repaired.
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:46 PM on April 12, 2010


If you do use Facebook, twitter, etc, please be sure that those involved know to take their information to the police, not the web. A friend of mine was killed recently in a h&r and the police were very adamant that all information go directly to them, not be posted on a public forum. For starters, the police do not want a vigilante group acting on half-baked tips, and if there is a good tip, they don't want the suspect to know about it before they have a chance to follow it up.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:05 AM on April 13, 2010


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