Police seek car’s owner after Juniata Park hit-and-run leaves one dead, one injured, dog missing

Update 12:10 p.m.:

A Good Samaritan who pursued a car involved in a fatal hit-and-run may have brought police one step closer to identifying the driver responsible.

Police said Monday that they were seeking to speak with the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the Sunday night crash, but had not confirmed if he was behind the wheel when the vehicle crashed into a car performing a U-turn in Juniata Park.

The registered owner of the gray 2008 Mitsubishi SUV involved in the hit-and-run was Alberto Vangas, who had a listed address within blocks of where the crash occurred.

“It’d be helpful if he could give us any information, especially who was operating the vehicle,” said Capt. John Wilczynski of the police Accident Investigation Division.

The vehicle was located shortly after the hit-and-run due to a good Samaritan who called 911 after seeing the crash and proceeded to follow the striking vehicle in their own car for several blocks, Wilczynski said.

That caller saw a male driver ditch the SUV near 9th Street and Rising Sun Avenue and flee the vehicle and shared that info with police.

“If they didn’t do that, we might not have the vehicle,” Wilczynski said.

Details on how exactly the accident occurred were not available, but Wilczynski said it appeared the victim’s car was attempting a U-turn when it was struck and sustained heavy front-end damage.

Wilczynski said he could not confirm reports that a beloved poodle was in the car and went missing after the crash.

Francis Arroyo, 42, a passenger in the struck vehicle, died as a result of the crash.

Anyone with information about how to contact Vangas is being asked to call 215-685-3180.

The crash is the sixth fatal hit-and-run of 2015, Wilczynski said.

–Sam Newhouse

Original story: A hit-and-run collision in Juniata Park Sunday night left one man dead, his brother injured and a dog missing.

Philadelphia police say a man driving a Mazda sedan was pulling out of a parking spot late Sunday near East Luzerne and I streetswhen the car was clipped by a passing motorist who didn’t stop.

The passenger inside the Mazda died in the crash. His brother, the driver, was treated at an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The deceased passenger of the vehicle has been identified as Francis Arroyo, and the driver as his brother Osvaldo.

According to ABC,Osvaldo was the father of a special needs son, and the boy’s beloved dog Max — who was in the car at the time of the incident –is now missing.

The family is asking anyone who sees the dog to call police.

Police located the vehicle that fled the scene 9th Street and Rising Sun Avenue.

Dogs involved in traumatic events don’t tend to travel too far,Jen Leary, the founder of Red Paw Animal Emergency Relief told Metro.

Her agency responds to fires and other massemergencies affecting pets in Philadelphia, though isn’t involved in the search for Max.

“A lot of dogs, like after they get hit by cars, or if there’s a fire in their house, they run away. Almost always, if they run away, they come back eventually.”