Police seek driver after woman dies in hit-skip

TRAFFIC FATALITY

A car struck and killed a female pedestrian Saturday night on the West Side and Columbus police are still searching for its driver.

Denise Nunziato, 49, died crossing West Broad Street at Sylvan Avenue just before 10:40 p.m.

Witnesses told police a yellow 1992 Honda Civic speeding eastbound on West Broad Street struck Nunziato. She was pronounced dead at the scene about 10:45 p.m., police said.

A video showed a man witnesses identified as Andrew Fabal driving the Civic, starting from 3344 W. Broad St., which is located two blocks west of where Nunziato was hit, police said.

An automobile repair business named Full Automotive is located at that address.

Fabal, 31, continued eastbound after striking Nunziato, then made a U-turn and returned to 3344 W. Broad St., where he left the car in a garage and fled the scene, police said.

Police impounded the car as evidence, but Fabal had not been arrested or charged as of Sunday night.

Shortly after the incident, police cordoned off a block of West Broad Street to traffic and additional officers were called to the scene to assist with crowd control.

By midnight, a small group remained outside a nearby gas station.

Nunziato’s death is the city’s 27th traffic fatality this year.

Anyone with information about Nunziato’s death or Fabal’s whereabouts is asked to call the Columbus Police Accident Investigation Unit at 614-645-4767.