Driver leaves engine running and flees scene after Leith crash

OFFICERS are searching for a driver who crashed a car in Leith, left the engine running then fled the scene.

The silver Vauxhall Astra had been seen at 9am yesterday by officers on patrol in Easter Road.

Spotting a defect, they asked the driver to stop but the car headed off along Restalrig Road towards the junction with East Hermitage Place where it accelerated away.

Around 9.25am, the same officers came across the car which had collided with the drainpipe of a building in Burns Street. The keys were in the ignition. They searched the area but there was no trace of the driver.

Sergeant Jill Kirkpatrick, of the Road Policing Unit based in Edinburgh, said: “We are appealing for anyone walking or driving in the Leith area at the time who may have seen this car being driven, possibly at speed, to get in touch.

“The car may have been driven along a number of streets between Easter Road and Burns Street. These include Brunswick Road, Leith Links, Albion Road, Albion Place, Hawkhill Avenue, Lochend Road, Sleigh Drive, Lochend Drive and Restalrig Road.

“Anyone with dash-cam footage that may show the car is asked to contact us. If you can help please call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0724 of 9 October 2020, or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”