Man Walking on Sidewalk Injured in Hit-and-Run

A 38-year-old man was in critical condition Tuesday after being struck by a hit-and-run driver as he walked along a sidewalk on Harbor Boulevard late Monday night, police said.

The victim, whose name has not been released by police, was walking in the 1200 block of Harbor, just south of the Riverside Freeway, when the 10:54 p.m. incident occurred.

A witness told police a southbound brown Camaro suddenly went out of control, hit a curb and veered up onto the sidewalk, striking the man, Anaheim police Sgt. Chuck O’Connor said.

“We haven’t determined the speed of the car, but the driver must have been going pretty fast,” O’Connor said. “The car was supposedly the only vehicle in the roadway so we don’t know why it suddenly went out of control.”

O’Connor said the incident is puzzling to investigators, who have not yet been able to interview the victim because of his extensive injuries. He underwent surgery at UCI Medical Center in Orange early Tuesday.

“He was just walking, was basically the only pedestrian, and the Camaro was the only car in the road,” O’Connor said. “At first we thought maybe the driver did it on purpose, but it appears to be an accident because of the way the car struck the victim.”

The Camaro is thought to be a late 1980s Z-28 model. It was last seen speeding away eastbound on the Riverside Freeway.

“There’s not much to go on really, so we’re hoping that a witness will come forward with something,” O’Connor said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call O’Connor at (714) 254-1835 or Sgt. Richard Buchholz at (714) 254-1861.