Erie police find suspect vehicle as probe ongoing in fatal hit-and-run

January 7, 2026 3oliver

Erie Times News

Erie police find suspect vehicle as probe ongoing in fatal hit-and-run

Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News

Tue, January 6, 2026 at 3:59 PM UTC

2 min read

Erie police have recovered a vehicle suspected of being involved in a Dec. 9 hit-and-run accident that killed a bicyclist in the city.

The vehicle, which investigators identified as a 2020 Dodge Durango, was found in Harborcreek Township. Police have impounded the vehicle and are serving search warrants on it as part of the ongoing investigation into the accident, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said Jan. 6.

Police have not identified a suspected driver, and no one had been charged in the accident as of Jan. 6.

Erie police have searched for the vehicle since the evening of Dec. 9, when 66-year-old Richard Gaska was struck while riding a bicycle in the area of West Eighth and Liberty streets. Investigators said the vehicle that struck Gaska was believed to have been traveling east on West Eighth Street.

Erie police said they have located a vehicle in Harborcreek Township that is suspected of being involved in a Dec. 9 hit-and-run accident in the city that killed a 66-year-old man who was riding a bicycle.

The driver of the vehicle did not stop and drove off after the accident, which police said was reported at 6:53 p.m. Dec. 9. The vehicle was suspected to have damage to the front end and hood, and possibly to the windshield, investigators reported.

Gaska was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he was pronounced dead at 7:50 p.m. Dec. 9. Authorities were initially unable to locate any of his relatives, but eventually a relative came forward and claimed him, the Erie County Coroner’s Office reported Jan. 6.

More: State police still seeking answers in fatal Waterford hit and run

A few days after the accident, Erie police posted on the department’s Facebook page images of the suspect vehicle taken from a security camera at West Eighth Street and the Bayfront Parkway. It was not immediately known Jan. 6 if information gathered from the posting led to the discovery of the suspect vehicle in Harborcreek Township.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fatal hit-and-run probe ongoing; Erie police impound suspect vehicle

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