Police have arrested the hire car driver who hit Vibert Sam on Boxing Night before escaping.

Sam of Lot 19 Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara was hit by the speeding car which pitched him more than 30 feet away before hitting him a second time.

The driver sped away that night but his licence plate was later discovered and handed over to the police.

A senior police source told Stabroek News yesterday afternoon that sometime Tuesday the hire car driver was tracked down and arrested.

The man remained in police custody up to yesterday and charges will be laid against him shortly.

Several charges, including failure to report an accident, will be levelled against the driver, the police source said.

The injured man, who has been a patient of the Georgetown Public Hos-pital’s High Dependency Unit since Saturday, was up and speaking to relatives yesterday. He is said to be in a stable condition.

A witness, who wanted to remain anonymous, had said the accident occurred sometime after 8 pm on Saturday. Sam, the witness had said, was crossing from the northern side of the road and was almost in the middle, where the double lane road is separated by a strip of grass sandwiched by concrete ledges, when he was hit by the taxi, HB 3337.

The accident occurred a short distance away from the Sparendaam Police Station. The car, according to the witness, came speeding around a blind bend along the road.