Man dead in Maplewood hit-and-run, another arrested
A man is dead and another is in custody after a hit-and-run crash in Maplewood, Minnesota, early Friday, police said.
It happened around 4:30 a.m. Friday on the 2300 block of Maryland Avenue East. Police said 31-year-old Abdul Bakr Jafar of St. Paul was hit by a large conversion van and died at the scene.
"The dog woke us up at about 4:37," said Gary Salkowicz.
Salkowicz woke up to the sound of barking and knew right away something was wrong.
"I looked out the window and there was a pretty good presence of St. Paul police squads just to the east of my house by about 200 feet," said Salkowicz.
That's where officers found Jafar lying in the road. They said his injuries were consistent with being hit by a vehicle. First responders performed CPR, but Jafar died at the scene.
"You could tell by the real lack of emergency that they weren't alive anymore," said Salkowicz.
The driver had fled the scene, but a neighbor's surveillance camera recorded the hit-and-run. Police say it showed a large conversion van with a ladder rack close to the victim, and through that, they were able to obtain vehicle information. It led them two hours away to the town of Sleepy Eye, where officers arrested a 46-year-old man for criminal vehicular homicide around 11 a.m. They believe he was driving under the influence of alcohol. He is currently in custody at the Ramsey County Jail.
"We have a number of people who feel they need to speed between the corner of McKnight and Maryland to the corner of Maryland and Lakewood Drive," said Salkowicz.
Salkowicz has lived on the stretch of road for nearly 40 years. He says in addition to speeders, there is no stoplight in the area, so the street is very dark at night and in the early morning hours. He doesn't know exactly what caused this fatal crash, but his heart goes out to the victim's family.
"That person was somebody's baby one day and never again, sadly," said Salkowicz.