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Elderly Man Run Down And Killed In Apparent Hit-And-Run In Morningside Heights

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - An elderly man was run down and killed in an apparent hit-and-run late on Friday night.

It happened just steps away from Columbia University in Morningside Heights.

The driver got away, but police said that someone out there knows what he or she did -- struck 75-year-old Arnold Slater and then left him on the street to die. Police said that by the time they responded to 114th Street and Broadway, the driver had sped off in a black Honda Civic. They found Slater on the ground in shock. His umbrella and shoes were nearby.

They tried to rush him to St. Luke's Hospital to save him, but he couldn't hold on, dying upon arrival.

People on the block are calling the driver a coward.

"It's just wrong," Manhattan resident Chantel Miles told CBS 2's Amy Dardashtian. "It could be anyone's family member. If an accident occurred you should stay around just to help them out. It's the right thing to do."

"It's a sad thing that people would not take the time to stop, especially if you hit an old person," Manhattan resident Charles Mari added. "It's really sad."

Morningside Heights is heavily populated by students. Police said that the black Honda Civic was heading northbound when it hit the Slater, who was crossing from the east side to the west side of the street.

Police are looking for the driver as the investigation continues.

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