Coast hit-and-run victim identified. Authorities ask for public’s help in finding driver

A Gulfport man died Monday after a hit-and-run in Harrison County, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The Department said deputies were called at 2:57 a.m. Monday to Orange Grove Road near Azalea Trace. They found a deceased man lying in the middle of the road who appeared to have been hit by a car, a news release said.

Harrison County coroner Brian Switzer identified the man as 38-year-old Patrick Howard III.

Authorities said there were no cars at the scene. The person who called the Sheriff’s Department saw no cars either, the news release said.

Police said the hit-and-run occurred between 2 am. and 3 a.m. on Orange Grove Road in the area of Azalea Trace.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers are asking for the public’s help to identify the driver and the car. The Sheriff’s Department asks anyone with information to call Mississippi Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898 or the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office at 228-897-1364.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 8:46 AM.