Hit And Run Suspect Nabbed In Neighborhood

Hit and run suspect found in Bensonhurst backyard (image by Ken Murray for Daily News)

[UPDATE 5:45 p.m.] The suspect has been identified as Brian Pittsley who, according to Brooklyn Daily, may have been squatting in a house on Bay 20th Street between Benson Avenue and 86th Street. The Post is reporting that Pittsley has an arrest record which includes five priors since 2003, including grand larceny, assault, resisting arrest and petit larceny.

It looks like we finally know what all that police activity before – near 18th Avenue and 83rd Street – was about.

According to the Daily News, police were nabbing a hit and run suspect from a Monday night crash in Staten Island. The suspect (pictured above) is currently unidentified.

From the News:

A Brooklyn man has been arrested as the driver in Monday night’s horrific hit-and-run crash in Staten Island that killed a teenager and injured six others, a police source said.
The unidentified suspect sparked a police dragnet around 11 a.m. Tuesday after he fled his Bensonhurst home when detectives tried to question him, a source said.
He was caught hiding in a backyard a few blocks away.
He is still being questioned and has not been charged.Cops believe the man was speeding in a 1992 Chevy Suburban carrying seven passengers at about 9:30 p.m. Monday when he blew through a stop sign at the intersection of Hillside Terrace and Hylan Blvd. in Eltingville.
A 2009 Nissan Sentra, which was traveling northbound on Hylan Blvd., struck the back of the SUV, causing the Suburban’s driver to loose control and careen into the back of a parked 2003 Chevy Trailblazer.
The Suburban then bounced off the parked SUV and flipped over, ejecting at least one passenger onto the street, cops said.
Angel Rivera, 17, was thrown from the rear seat on driver’s side of the vehicle. He died a short time later at the hospital, police said.
A 17-year-old-girl lost part of her right arm in the accident, police said. Five other passengers suffered cuts bruises and fractures. None of those injuries were life threatening.
The driver of the Suburban climbed from the wreck and fled on foot leaving his injured passengers behind. Cops said the vehicle was not registered.
The 20-year-old driver of the Nissan suffered only bumps and bruises. He was not charged with a crime.