Authorities on Wednesday released the identity of the man who was fatally run over by two vehicles that fled from a Brooklyn Park, Minn., intersection.
Meshu B. Lamu, 61, of Brooklyn Park, was struck about 6:50 p.m. Tuesday in the southbound lane of Hwy. 252 near 73rd Avenue N., according to the State Patrol. He died at the scene.
"He walked that route a lot," Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said of Lamu, who lived about 3 blocks northeast of where he was killed.
Lamu’s son, Abebe Bulto, said his father was nearly to his regular bus stop while heading to his food warehouse job in Minneapolis.
Lamu emigrated from Ethiopia nearly three years ago and moved in with Bulto, his son’s wife and the couple’s four children, Bulto said. The family’s hope was for Lamu’s wife to also move from Ethiopia and join the others.
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Based on information from a witness, the State Patrol said it is looking for a dark sedan and a red SUV or minivan that fled before authorities arrived. Roeske said investigators are looking into whether video surveillance in the area might lead them to either vehicle.
Roeske said the patrol is still piecing together whether Lamu was in a crosswalk and whether he or the vehicles had the right of way at the intersection, which is controlled by traffic lights.
The road was dry, and there didn’t appear to be any road hazards at the time.
