Police continue to seek information in hit-skip pedestrian strike that left teen in critical condition

Dayton police are continuing to investigate a hit-and-run pedestrian strike that left a teenager in critical condition with broken bones and head injuries.

The crash was reported around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday on North Main Street near Maplelawn Drive.

According to a crash report, the vehicle apparently lost control and went off the right side of the road and hit 18-year-old Rhoneal McDonald, who was at the bus stop.

“This particular accident is concerning because the vehicle went up on the sidewalk and struck an 18-year-old student who was actually waiting to catch the bus to go to school,” said Sgt. Gordan Cairns, Dayton police Traffic Services Unit supervisor. “To make things worse the student has special needs and is autistic and doesn’t quite understand what’s going on in the hospital now according to his mother.”

Investigators were able to recover some evidence and are looking for a black or dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox from 2010-2015.

Investigators were able to recover some evidence and are looking for a black or dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox from 2010-2015.

“At this point we have nothing to go on as far as if this was an intentional act or if this was strictly an accident,” Cairns said. “Obviously a lot of that is going to be part of the investigation and that’s why we really want anyone that may have seen this, may have heard about it, may have any sort of doorbell footage, camera footage or anything like that to come forward and let us know to help us with the investigation.”

Police are also investigating a fatal crash on Stanley Avenue that took place hours after the pedestrian strike.

Musaddin Abdullayev, a 60-year-old Dayton man, was killed in the two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Stanley Avenue and Kuntz Road.

Abdullayev was driving a car that went through a red light and hit a semi truck that was turning onto Stanley Avenue, according to a crash report.

He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“We do have video footage showing the sequence of events that caused this accident,” said Cairns. “We’re trying to wait for autopsy results before we can make a determination as to if this was a medical situation or if there was something else wrong.”

A medical condition was initially relayed to crews at the scene of the crash, he added.

Cairns reminded drivers to give other vehicles space while on the road and to avoid distractions.

“We do get a high number of accidents in general,” he said. “A lot of this just comes down to driver attention and driver behaviors...Once you’re in that car all your attention should be spent on the road, what’s going on around you, the traffic signals, the traffic flow and your speed.”

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