The Friday evening collision killed a 63-year-old man and left another wounded as traffic shut down along U.S. 90 in New Orleans East.
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police are searching for the driver of a tan hatchback that struck two pedestrians and fled Friday just before 6 p.m. in the 6300 block of Chef Menteur Highway, killing a 63-year-old man and injuring another, investigators said.
The crash halted evening traffic on one of the city’s busiest corridors and renewed questions about safety along long, multi-lane stretches of U.S. 90. The Police Department’s Traffic Fatality Unit is leading the investigation and reviewing security video from nearby businesses and residential towers. The Orleans Parish coroner will release the victim’s name after notifying family. The second victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Police said the suspect car likely has fresh damage to the front and left side, and they asked area mechanics and body shops to be alert for recent walk-ins matching that description.
Officers responded at 5:55 p.m. to reports that two people had been hit near the high-rise apartments. When they arrived, they found the older man unresponsive in the roadway and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said. The second man was conscious when transported. “Our investigators believe a tan-colored hatchback continued eastbound after the impact,” the department said. Detectives closed all lanes to mark the scene, take measurements and recover pieces of plastic and metal believed to be from the suspect vehicle’s front fascia and driver’s side. After documenting skid marks and the pedestrians’ final positions, officers reopened the highway later that night.
Detectives did not release a make or model and said it remains unknown how fast the car was traveling at the time of impact. The department’s reconstruction process includes matching debris part numbers, checking area cameras frame by frame and tracing any distinctive damage pattern that could narrow the search. Investigators also review 911 recordings and traffic signal data where available. The coroner is expected to conduct an autopsy to confirm the cause of death and gather injury details that can help estimate vehicle speed and angle of impact. Police said they are collecting witness accounts from bus stops, storefronts and apartment balconies facing the corridor.
Chef Menteur Highway is a long, straight connector lined with apartment complexes, shops and service stations, where residents often walk between bus stops and parking lots. Prior fatal and serious-injury crashes along the corridor have involved pedestrians struck in low light or while crossing multiple lanes of traffic. The 6300 block sits near driveways and side streets that create frequent entry points and turning movements, complicating sightlines for both drivers and people on foot. Residents have previously raised concerns about speeding near the high-rise buildings and the extended green phases that move highway traffic quickly through the area around dusk.
Case steps now include canvassing a wider radius for surveillance video, issuing a regionwide bulletin to repair shops about tan hatchbacks with front-left damage and processing evidence through the crime lab. If detectives identify a suspect, they can seek an arrest warrant and seize the vehicle for testing, including paint transfer analysis and a check of airbag modules and onboard data that sometimes preserve speed and braking information after a crash. Prosecutors review fatal hit-and-run cases once an arrest is made to determine charges such as felony hit-and-run and related counts. Any public release of the victim’s identity will come from the coroner after family notification.
Traffic sputtered through the corridor after lanes reopened, with drivers passing faded flares and tape along the shoulder. A few neighbors watched from the sidewalk, trading stories about near-misses and breakneck speeds between the apartment towers and corner stores. “Leaving the scene makes a hard situation even harder for everyone involved,” the department said. Farther down the block, a tow truck idled as investigators packed measuring wheels and evidence bags, the last blue lights reflecting off storefront windows as dusk turned to night.
Police said no arrest had been announced as of late Friday. Investigators expect to release an update after the coroner’s identification and once they complete the video canvas along Chef Menteur Highway early this week.
Author note: Last updated November 24, 2025.