Police Search For Pickup Truck After Fatal Taunton Hit & Run
TAUNTON (CBS) - "We have come to a point where it is OK to hit, kill, keep going," says the sign. It's a huge message painted on a piece of plywood in the spot where a beloved neighbor on Middleboro Avenue in Taunton was killed in a hit and run.
Friends say 85-year-old Jose Ferreira was in a crosswalk heading home after showing a rental property he owned Wednesday evening. Investigators took a screen grab of footage from a nearby security camera of a truck they're looking for. It was a discovery that prompted police to change the description they had first put out after the incident. They're now looking for a blue or dark colored 1999-2007 GMC Sierra pick-up. They say it might have hood or windshield damage.
"There is no humanity anymore. To hit a human being and leave them for dead," said a friend of the victim who didn't want to be identified. "He was just a kind old man walking home."
She said the crosswalk on Middleboro Avenue is a dangerous spot where speeding vehicles often don't stop for pedestrians. "Everybody's worried. That could have been my friend's children in the crosswalk," said the woman.
With the updated vehicle description, police are renewing their call for help from the public. They would like to hear from anyone who was walking or driving near the 300 block of Middleboro Avenue just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, or anyone who recognizes the truck they're looking for.
Anyone with information is asked to contact State Trooper Brock Morrissette at 508-961-1904 or the Taunton Police's detective line at 508-824-7522.
