Concord Police Investigating Early Morning West End Hit-And-Run Crash

CONCORD, NH — Concord police are investigating an early morning hit-and-run crash in the West End on Saturday.

Just before 1 a.m., residents of Little Pond Road reported hearing a loud boom and then squealing tires, and suspected there may have been a crash. Dispatch sent officers to the area. One officer who heard the call told dispatch they saw a car with front-end damage drive by them.

“A vehicle just went past me on North State Street,” the officer said. “It was all banged up and was screeching real loud.”

Another officer headed to the area while the first officer began to try to track down the car. They reported it turning onto Court Street, Washington Street, or Centre Street.

“It had heavy damage on the driver’s side,” the officer said. “It also had a headlight out.”

Dispatch asked if it was a white car and the officer said it was. The dispatcher reported fire dispatch heard and saw the vehicle earlier. The fire dispatchers are located at the intersection of Penacook and North State streets and Horseshoe Pond Lane.

A third officer headed to the area to check side streets and parking lots in the downtown area after the first officer lost track of the car, thinking it may have been “tucked away.”

An officer found debris on Auburn Street near Penacook Street and Little Pond Road. The officer continued driving west and, just after Pond Place Lane, found more debris and mud tracks where the car drove east into a fire hydrant. Dispatch then received a call reporting the car was on North Spring Street.

“It was someone that heard it going by,” the dispatcher said.

An officer found the Toyota Corolla parked just off the intersection of North Spring and School streets unoccupied.

Officers searched the area for a man matching the description of the owner of the car — late 20s, about 6 feet tall, 204 pounds, with dark hair and eyes, but did not find anyone (dispatch did not offer a racial or ethnic description of the man). Dispatch said Concord police had “a lot of history with him.” According to posts on Patch, the owner of the vehicle was charged with drug possession about 10 years ago when he was 17 and driving while intoxicated, drug possession, and marijuana possession in May 2016, at 19. He was reportedly found passed out behind the wheel of a Prius at a McDonald’s drive-thru. According to the arrest report, police accused the suspect of failing a field sobriety test, and possessing beer, a smoking device, a jar of marijuana, and a digital scale.

An officer visited the man’s apartment, which was nearby, while other officers made contact with local cab companies to see if anyone was picked up in the area. The officer at his apartment reached the vehicle owner by cellphone and said he agreed to step out and meet with him, but after waiting, he did not appear.

“I’m still working on getting a hold of him,” the officer said.

According to scanner chatter, the officer who found the debris also arrived to assist, but the suspect did not respond to them either. Around 2 a.m., that officer went to headquarters to file a report.