Lauderhill police want to find driver who hit 71-year-old, left him for dead

LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Investigators are searching for a pickup truck driver who hit and killed a 71-year-old man and fled the scene in late June, Lauderhill police said Thursday.

The brutal crash was caught on surveillance video.

Maj. Mike Santiago, a Lauderhill police spokesperson, said the incident happened at around 10:40 p.m. on June 20, in the 1200 block of Northwest 31st Avenue.

In the surveillance video, released by police, a black, late-model Dodge Ram pickup truck is seen slamming into Ira Joe Anderson on a rainy night. His body violently careens across the roadway before coming to a stop.

Local 10 News is only showing the aftermath of the graphic video.

After hitting Anderson, the driver, described as a medium build Black woman with shoulder length blond hair, exits the vehicle and is soon joined by a passenger. The two check on the man, but the driver quickly runs back to the truck.

The passenger appears to stay behind as the driver runs back to the truck and drives off. The passenger appears to run off after the truck as it makes a left turn away from the scene.

“That’s the part that really hurts so bad,” Estella Dowling, Anderson’s sister, said.

Police said officers and fire rescue crews arrived shortly after and medics took Anderson to Broward Health Medical Center with serious injuries, where he later died.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lauderhill police at 954-497-4700 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“Be strong,” Dowling said. “Tell the truth and help so we can get some peace, because we don’t know nothing.”

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Janine Stanwood

Janine Stanwood

Janine Stanwood is an Emmy award-winning reporter and anchor. She joined Local 10 News in February 2004 as an assignment editor.

Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.