Man from NI dies in Liverpool '˜hit and run' incident

Merseyside Police said the man died after a crash near the city centre.

The victim was on The Strand near the Hilton hotel and the Albert Dock when he was struck by a grey-coloured BMW at around 11.40pm on Friday night.

Police said by-standers went to the victim’s aid but the driver of the car sped off southbound away from the city centre.

“Paramedics gave the man First Aid at the scene before taking him to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where, despite the best efforts of medics, he was pronounced dead at approximately 2.30am this morning.

“Officers have identified who he is and have informed his next of kin.

“It is believed he had been visiting the city with friends and had been enjoying a night out when the collision occurred.

Merseyside Police added: “Extensive enquiries are being carried out by detectives and roads policing officers to identify and track down the person or people on board the vehicle involved in the collision.”

Inspector Danny Harris from the roads policing unit appealed for anyone who was driving or walking along the Strand at the time of the collision who may have seen the vehicle before or afterwards.

He said: “This is an extremely serious incident in which a young man has tragically died. We need anyone who saw the collision or remembers seeing a grey or silver-coloured BMW in or around this area to come forward. If you were filming on your mobile phone whilst on this part of the Strand then please review that footage and let us know if it captures anything. If you were driving and had a dash-cam on then again, please look at your footage from that part of your journey and tell us if anything significant is on there.

“The person behind the wheel at the time of this collision knows what has happened and it is important that they do the right thing and come forward and help us understand what has happened. The city is covered by CCTV and we are using every resource at our disposal to investigate this tragedy and will not stop until we have identified and tracked down everyone who was there at the time.”

The Strand is likely to remain closed for a significant part of Saturday and the force is working with public transport companies and the city council to put diversions in place and minimise disruption in the city. However motorists and commuters are strongly advised to avoid the area where possible and leave extra time for journeys taking them through the city centre.”