High Point police seek driver after 5-year-old killed in hit-and-run

High Point police are asking for the public’s help after a 5-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run near East Russell Avenue and Hines Street, turning a Friday evening emergency into a painful search for a driver who left before officers arrived.

High Point 911 got the call around 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5, 2026, about someone lying in the road. When High Point police, High Point Fire Department crews and Guilford County EMS reached the scene, they found the child had been struck by a car. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Investigators believe the suspect vehicle may be a gray Ford Focus or Ford Fiesta from model years 2012 through 2018. That detail is now central to the case, because police need anyone who saw the crash, the car, or damage to the vehicle to come forward. Even small details, such as the direction the car traveled, the condition of the front end, or whether it was parked afterward in a neighborhood or lot, could help detectives identify the driver.

The High Point Police Department and Crime Stoppers of High Point are asking anyone with information to contact them. The department’s hit-and-run investigator can be reached at 336.883.3224. The City of High Point says public copies of accident and incident reports usually appear through the Police to Citizen site within 48 to 72 hours.

The death also highlights a wider safety problem on Guilford County roads and across North Carolina. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 23% of pedestrian fatalities in 2021 involved hit-and-run drivers. North Carolina’s 2024 crash profile lists 335 pedestrian fatalities statewide.

The crash happened in an area where the city is already working on pedestrian access through the Market District Infrastructure Project, which includes roadway and sidewalk improvements along South Main Street from Russell Avenue to Grimes Avenue and along Russell Avenue from Elm Street to South Main Street. As detectives continue to look for the driver, police are relying on the community to help close the gap left at East Russell Avenue and Hines Street.