Warren police ask homeless hit and run victim to contact them about injuries

The man, who is homeless, is asked to call traffic officer

Staff report

WARREN

Warren police want the victim of a Dec. 20 hit and run to contact them with information about the extent of his injuries to help with prosecution of the man who hit him.

Traffic officer Ben Harrell asks that Artem P. Brodeur, 23, of Ankeny, Iowa, call his office at 330-841-2797.

Brodeur, who is homeless, was hit by a car at the intersection of Chestnut and East Market streets at 6:42 p.m. Dec. 20 and was treated at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

Police said a vehicle making a southbound turn onto Chestnut from Market hit Brodeur, who rolled onto the hood of the car and onto the sidewalk.

A witness followed the dark-colored car as it headed south on Chestnut and went through the McDonald’s parking lot, Harrell said.

The witness told police the car might have been a newer Honda, but after Harrell reviewed surveillance video at the McDonald’s and at May’s Towing, Harrell started checking much older vehicles and other makes.

The video didn’t give a clear view of the car, but it showed that the car had one working and one burned out light low on the rear quarter-panels. He also had partial identification of the license plate.

Relatively few cars have that type of light, so Harrell used the Internet to determine what type of cars have it, then used a state auto registration database to identify cars in Trumbull County that might match.

When he checked out a 2001 Volvo registered to an address a short distance from the accident scene, he knew he had found the car, he said. The suspect, a man, 27, admitted being the driver.

He will be charged within a few days, but knowing the extent of Brodeur’s injuries will assist with the filing of charges, Harrell said.