Hit-and-run drama at 5am
SHOUTING HEARD AROUND TIME OF INCIDENT
RESIDENTS have told how they heard shouting and tyres screeching as a man was injured in an early morning hit-andrun.
Families awoke to find an area of Ravensworth Road, in Birtley, Gateshead, cordoned off with police tape after the incident, which is thought to have happened at around 5am.
The 27-year-old man suffered head and leg injuries.
He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle by ambulance.
As police hunt the driver, who did not stop at the scene, residents have told how they heard a commotion at the time of the collision.
One man, who did not want to give his name, said: “I heard some shouting, which is not unusual round here, I didn’t think anything of it.
“Then I heard the screech of tyres. The police wouldn’t say anything at all. I haven’t a clue what it is.”
Yesterday morning, a forensics van was at the scene and officers were asking to view shops’ CCTV.
Locals were told by police that a man had been hit by a car, but that his injuries were not life-threatening.
Police told churchgoers who were greeted by the scene what had happened.
One woman said: “It was 5.30am this morning. The police told us someone had been hit by a car.
“They had blocked all the road off. It was quite shocking. We said a prayer for him.
“It’s terrible, this road. The speed limit is 20mph but some people think it’s 50 or 60.”
Another churchgoer added: “I think it was a man that was injured.
“They just said he was unconscious, but they said it’s not life-threatening.”
A North East Ambulance service spokesman said: “We were called just after 5am to a road traffic collision on Ravensworth Road at the junction of Station Lane.
“An ambulance and a doctor from the air ambulance unit were dispatched to the scene.
“A male patient suffered head and leg injuries and was transported to the Royal Victoria Infirmary.”
Police are now appealing for witnesses. The road reopened just after noon.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “A 27-year-old man was hit by a vehicle that then made off from the scene.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call Northumbria Police on 101 quoting log 236 of September 22.