Hit-Run Driver Alleged to Have Shot at Victim

Sheriff’s deputies searched Friday for a hit-and-run driver who allegedly shot at a man who videotaped him fleeing a car accident near Lancaster.

A man driving a blue 1985 Monte Carlo allegedly struck the back of a 1998 Chrysler Sebring late Thursday night on Avenue J at 10th Street West, said Lancaster Sheriff’s Deputy Donald Rubio.

The driver of the Monte Carlo reportedly drove off without trading insurance information, and the other driver followed him and called authorities on his cell phone, Rubio said.

The driver of the Sebring pursued the Monte Carlo for several miles to an area near Beech Avenue and Avenue J. The alleged hit-and-run driver ran from his car into nearby woods, returned with two other men and retrieved a handgun from under the driver’s seat of his car, as the other driver was videotaping him, Rubio said.

After the man in the Sebring stopped videotaping, he said, the Monte Carlo driver turned and fired two shots in his direction. No one was hit, Rubio said.

The three men, described as African Americans between 18 and 20, slim and about 5 feet 9, remained at large Friday night. The Sheriff’s Department did not identify them or the victim.