Search continues for victim of NJ hit-and-run

EVESHAM TWP., N.J. - October 11, 2012 (WPVI) -- Evesham police have been scouring the sides of roadways since Tuesday night when it was discovered that a person may have been struck by a 1997 silver Ford Taurus driven by an 81-year-old Cherry Hill man.

Police say he was stopped while driving erratically on East Main near Knox Boulevard around 8:15 p.m.

They noticed his car had front end damage and the windshield smashed consistent with a person being struck.

"As [the officer] further investigates, he notices what he believes to be human hair in the windshield. He continues to talk to the driver. At this time, we do not believe the driver was intoxicated," Evesham Township Police Sgt. Joseph Friel said.

The driver told police that 15 minutes prior he hit something and that he thought it was an animal.

"The driver stated that he did search the area and didn't locate anything," Friel said.

The New Jersey State Police forensic crime lab has since confirmed that it was human hair, blondish-brown in color.

"Our biggest fear is that there's someone lying on the side of the road, somebody's injured that needs help," Friel said.

Police say the 81-year-old got lost and there was a two hour window between the time he left the mall and the time he was stopped.

They have put out alerts to neighboring law enforcement agencies which have been assisting in the search.

Police have checked with hospitals, checked missing persons reports, but so far, nothing has turned up.

They are asking for the public's help.

"So between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., if they saw any suspicious vehicles matching that description, saw something that maybe caught their attention, give us a call," Friel said.

Anyone with information is being asked to call police at 856-983-1111.

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new jersey, burlington county, accident, pedestrian struck, local/state

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