TOPEKA (KSNT) – Not one, but two drivers hit a 64-year-old Topeka man who was walking across 21st Street in May, according to new information 27 News obtained from a police crash report.
Topeka police stated in a crash report Darryl Coleman was in the westbound lanes of southwest 21st, just west of Gage Boulevard, when the first car hit him. Then, the second car hit him as he “laid in the roadway.” Coleman was rushed to the hospital, where he passed away. Police said Coleman had been drinking. He lived two blocks away.
Officers have not been able to locate the drivers of the two cars that hit Coleman. The city does not consider the death a homicide, said Rosie Nichols, police spokeswoman.
“Unless traffic fatalities happen in the commission of a felony, they are typically not considered homicides,” Nichols said.
Officers from the Topeka Police Department's Accident Reconstruction Team are investigating the May 24 accident.
A sketch of the crash indicates the first car turned left onto southwest Moundview Drive after the crash, according to the report. Failing to stop for a serious accident is a felony crime in Kansas, according to state law.
Coleman, who died two weeks before his 65th birthday, worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, according to his obituary.
If you have any information regarding the death of Coleman, you can reach out to TPD at telltpd@topeka.org or by calling 785-368-9400. Anonymous tips can also be sent to Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007 or online by clicking here.
