Authorities are still looking for the motorist responsible for hitting a pedestrian on Sunday and then leaving the scene. They believe the driver hit the pedestrian on purpose.

English: Mitsubishi Galant involved in an accident
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Officers received reports of an accident just after 1 p.m. on Sunday that involved a pedestrian and a motor vehicle. The collision occurred on the corner of Orangethorpe Avenue and Campus Drive.

Authorities believe, based on evidence in the video, that the driver intentionally struck the pedestrian before leaving the scene.

The visual evidence shows that the vehicle was traveling down Orangethorpe Avenue and swerved to the right as the victim was crossing Campus Drive in the crosswalk with another person. The vehicle drove directly into the man before swerving back into the lanes on Orangethorpe Ave. and speeding away. The other person in the crosswalk ran back to help the victim and to call emergency responders to the scene.

When emergency crews arrived at the scene, they found a 20-year-old man lying in the middle of the roadway on Campus Drive. The force of the impact had thrown the man into the air and over the windshield of the car, said Buena Park police Cpt. Andy Luong.

The video surveillance showed that the car did not even try to stop, and instead, fled at a high speed from the scene before police could arrive.

The police took statements from several witnesses and surveyed the video footage of the crash, before concluding that it seemed that the car accelerated towards the victim and never hit the brakes.

“It appeared intentional,” Luong said.

The victim was transported to the hospital for the treatment of the injuries sustained in the crash, but he has not been willing to cooperate with investigators. Authorities are still unsure of his tentative connection to the driver.

The vehicle is described as a golden, four-door sedan, possibly a Mitsubishi Galant, according to authorities. The windows were tinted. The video did not clearly show the license plate number.

The driver was described by witnesses as a thin, Hispanic male. He was driving with a Hispanic woman with her hair knotted in a bun as his passenger.

The vehicle was moderately damaged on the passenger’s side from the impact of the collision.

Video footage of the crash was released on Monday afternoon by authorities in an attempt to see if any member of the public could identify the vehicle or the driver.

Anyone with information should call investigators at 714-562-3970.

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