Hit-and-run victim found in middle of Oakland road identified
James Jerry Vas-Patterson, 23, was the fatal hit-and-run victim found dead Sunday night in Oakland, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Tuesday.
Vas-Patterson, whose home address is unknown, was found by Pittsburgh police officers just before 10 p.m. in the middle of the road in the 2300 block of Second Avenue, authorities said. A cause or manner of death has not yet been determined.
The man identified Tuesday as Vas-Patterson had suffered severe head injuries, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Officers began CPR until Medic Unit 7 pronounced him dead shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday.
Cruz identified the incident in the police blotter as a “fatal hit and run.” The collision investigation unit is investigating, she said.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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