$10,000 REWARD
Cops seek info on hit-run driver who killed man in Radnor:
This surveillance photo shows the vehicle that struck and killed a 69-yearold man on Lancaster Avenue last Tuesday.
RADNOR » Radnor police are asking for help in finding the driver who struck and killed a 69-year-old man on March 6 and a $10,000 reward is being offered.
The victim was crossing the 500 block Lancaster Avenue at about 8:08 p.m. when he was struck by a white GMC Yukon with Denali features, said Deputy Superintendent Chris Flanagan at a press conference on Friday. The victim, Fred Gitterman, was taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital and was pronounced dead a short time later, said Flanagan. When police came to the scene bystanders were “applying CPR,” said Flanagan.
Gitterman, who had addresses in Radnor and Media, had been in the crosswalk at an intersection when he was struck, apparently after eating dinner at a local restaurant, said Flanagan.
“We express our true sympathy to the family and friends of this victim,” said Flanagan. Later Flanagan said that Gitterman is survived by a former wife and a sister, but neither are local residents.
The SUV “was seen speeding away from the accident,” headed west toward Chester County. Videotape shows that the damaged SUV headed west on Lancaster Avenue before turning left on Paoli Pike in Paoli.
Highway Patrol Officer Ken Piree said the Yukon was a 2016 or later model. The vehicle has damage to the front driver’s side headlight, the left fender and bumper, he said. Witnesses said the vehicle’s brake lights flashed before it left the scene.
“We are still processing and collecting other evidence,” said Piree. So far the license number of the SUV has not been determined but more video is being studied, he said.
“We don’t know the reason the person didn’t stop but clearly they knew they hit somebody,” he said. “They applied the brakes. We have a witness statement from a parking lot … For whatever reason the person didn’t stop. Had they stopped, this would have been just an accident,” he said.
District Attorney Kat Copeland said, “We are attempting to identify the driver of the vehicle.” Radnor Township and the District Attorney’s office are offering the $10,000 reward that leads to the arrest and conviction of the driver, she said. Asked later what charges might be filed, Copeland said that a determination had not yet been made.
“We would encourage the individual responsible for this crime to turn themself in,” she said.
Flanagan said that Radnor police and county detectives are investigating and detectives are “out on the street” looking for more witnesses, along with other surveillance video that might help them identify the vehicle and the driver, he said.
“We’re looking for the community’s support,” said Flanagan. “We believe they can help us solve this crime.”
Any person with information regarding the incident, please contact Radnor Police Highway Patrol at 610-688-0500 or call 911.
“We don’t know the reason the person didn’t stop but clearly they knew they hit somebody. They applied the brakes. We have a witness statement from a parking lot … For whatever reason the person didn’t stop. Had they stopped, this would have been just an accident.”
— Highway Patrol Officer Ken Piree