The driver involved in a hit and run which left a man dead has today been branded a 'coward' by horrified neighbours.
Police were called to the scene around 12.30am on Wednesday to reports of a man lying in the road at Moss Bank Road, close to the Moss Bank Hotel.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident to come forward.
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Today large areas off the East Lancashire Road in St Helens are sealed off while police investigate, and diversions have been in place for drivers, sending those coming off the East Lancs eastbound up through Clinkham Wood.
Roads closed by police include: Moss Bank Road, Washway Lane, Scafell Road and Victoria Avenue with the large scale cordon stretching from Haresfinch Park up to the Moss Bank Hotel.
One resident living close to the scene described the incident as cowardly, they told the ECHO : "To just drive off after something like that is just cowardly, it makes you wonder."
Another person living in the same area was appalled by the incident, they said: "There's some horrible people out there."
One driver commented on the road in which the crash took place, calling it 'dangerous', they also said: “Nobody seems to know what they’re doing when they get to the junction.”
A resident living in the Moss Bank area, who asked not be named, told the ECHO : "It's awful, I just couldn't imagine driving off after hitting someone, it's normally a really quiet area around here."
Police want to speak to anyone in the area at the time and are also appealing for dashcam footage.
Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or been in the area around the time of 12.30am.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to call Matrix Roads Policing Unit on (0151) 777 5747, email SCIU@merseyside.police.uk, or DM @MerPolCC on Twitter quoting reference 22000025548.
