By Matthew Marx
The Columbus Dispatch
Copyright 2006 The Columbus Dispatch
All Rights Reserved
Police credited firefighters for finding a hit-and-run motorist who injured a woman on the Northeast Side yesterday afternoon.
“They’re required to work with us in any investigation, but I haven’t heard of this in a while where the Fire Department identified a hit-and-run driver,” Patrol Sgt. Isaac Bridges said last night.
The collision occurred at Sunbury Road and Innis Avenue at 2:22 p.m., where a traffic light was out, Bridges said.
Muse Osman Muse,24, drove through the intersection and collided with another car, Columbus police said.
“He should have treated it like a four-way stop,” Bridges said.
A 45-year-old woman driving the other car was treated for neck and back injuries at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s, he said.
Muse stayed around for a few minutes afterward, but then took off in a white Pontiac Grand Am that had lost its front license plate, Bridges said.
Muse was spotted by Columbus Fire Lt. Teresa Lyle, who was assigned to Engine 28 when it responded to the crash.
“The driver of our truck saw fresh oil stains going down the road. We didn’t figure he would get too far,” Lyle said.
As the engine followed the damaged car, Lyle contacted dispatchers to inform police. Two officers arrived just as the man fled.
One officer pursued on foot while the other took the description from Lyle, which led them to Muse, of 1130 Vesta Ave.
Muse wasn’t arrested, but he was cited for hit-and-run, failure to stop when a light is out and driving without a license, Bridges said. His license is under a 12-point suspension, Bridges said.
Muse was cited five times last year for traffic offenses, Franklin County Municipal Court records show. In his most recent case, he was found guilty of driving 58 mph in a 35-mph zone.
“At first he gave a false name and false information. He was upstairs acting like he was asleep and he had changed his clothes,” Bridges said.
Muse wasn’t available for comment last night. A woman who answered the phone at his home and identified herself as Muse’s sister said that the accusations were “lies.” She refused to comment further.
“We work together closely with a lot of things but it’s usually not like this,” said Firefighter Cynthia Moree, who was dispatching in the Fire Alarm Office at the time.
It reminded Moree of Dec. 11, when Police Officers Emanuel and William Edwards jumped into an icy pond to rescue a 14-year-old boy on the East Side.
“When they did this, we said, ‘All right. That’s our job.’ It goes to show that we both go out of our way to help each other.”