A homeless man has died after he was hit by a vehicle early Monday near a shelter in Northeast D.C., police say.
Solomon Zawdee was hit in the 1300 block of New York Avenue NE, police said. He was 40.
People who knew Zawdee said he was a former cab driver who had fallen on hard times. He turned 40 less than a week before he was killed, and worked at Peacock Liquor, a few blocks east of the shelter where he stayed. He was kind and honest, his boss at the liquor store said.
Zawdee was crossing the street after leaving the emergency shelter for men at 1355 New York Ave. NE, in the Ivy City area.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver who hit him fled. No information on their vehicle was released immediately.
It's unclear what preceded Zawdee being hit. Sources familiar with the case said Zawdee was belligerent and was kicked out of the shelter. A friend, Frank, said he believed Zawdee tried to cross New York Avenue to sleep in a parked car.
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According to sources, surveillance footage shows Zawdee in the street, lying down on the pavement, before he was hit by a light-colored SUV.
His boss said the driver must be caught and held accountable.
"This is unconscionable. At some point, justice has to be done," he said.
