Police are searching for a vehicle that struck a man near downtown Grand Forks Monday morning and investigating the hit and run crash as an aggravated assault.
A middle-aged man was taken to the emergency room by an Altru ambulance after being struck by a vehicle along Third Avenue South near Walnut Street, according to Sgt. Travis Benson. The incident was called in at 11:04 a.m.
Police believe the hit and run was intentional, Benson said. It is believed the driver and victim knew each other, according to a police press release.
A witness told investigators the victim had been talking to someone through the driver’s window of what appeared to be a black pickup when the pickup suddenly sped up with the man hanging onto the side. He eventually was knocked off by a parked vehicle on Third Avenue South, the witness told police.
The condition of the victim was not immediately clear, but Benson said he was alert when police responded. His name was not released by officers on the scene.
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There was also damage to a Ford F-150 parked in the street. Officers and detectives were collecting debris as evidence at the scene shortly after the collision.
The make and model of the suspect vehicle was unknown.
Crystal Bailly, who lives on the corner of Third Avenue South and Walnut, said she heard a large vehicle speeding by shortly before police arrived.
“I remember sitting up and thinking ‘He was moving fast,’ ” Bailly said.
