A Montgomery County man arrested on outstanding warrants in the Philadelphia suburbs is considered a person of interest in a West Philadelphia hit-and-run last week that tossed an 11-year-old boy about 50 feet in the air.
The man was arrested in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, on a warrant on Wednesday night, law enforcement sources told NBC10's Deanna Durante Thursday.
Philadelphia police and Montgomery county detectives spent the last several days looking for him, sources said.
The man was due in court in Montgomery County on July 6, but never showed, sources said.
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The boy was struck around on July 7 as he crossed the 4200 block of West Girard Avenue, police said.
A man driving a blue Ford F150 pickup hit him, Philadelphia Police Department Officer Eric McLaurin said at the time. Medics rushed the boy to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was in “extremely critical” condition as of last weekend.
Several people called 911 after witnessing the crash, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said last week.
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Witnesses and family told police that the boy was walking to a corner store with his mother and in the crosswalk when he was struck, investigators said. They told police that the westbound pickup truck driver went around two lanes of traffic and into the eastbound lanes, where he struck the boy.
The boy was launched about 50 feet, Small said. The impact left him with serious injuries from head to foot.
At least one driver followed the truck after the crash and was able to get a license plate for the pickup, investigators said. It was last seen going along Girard Avenue toward Martin Luther King Drive.
The man's truck was found in New Jersey, sources said.
No charges were announced in the hit-and-run as of Thursday morning.
