An e-bike rider fled the scene after hitting a pedestrian crossing Whalley Avenue at West Rock Avenue on Friday night, leaving a New Havener described by friends as a generous and beloved teacher and supporter of local arts in stable but critical condition. The injured pedestrian is a 74-year-ol d Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) English professor named Micheal Shea. New Haven Police Department (NHPD) spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that police responded to the Westville crash at around 9 p.m. The initial investigation shows that two pedestrians, including Shea, were entering the marked crosswalk outside 827 Whalley Ave., aka Lyric Hall, to cross Whalley. Traffic is supposed to stop at the traffic signal for Whalley and West Rock Avenue. An operator of what seems to be an e-bike, Bruckhart said, who was traveling north on Whalley passed the vehicles stopped at the signal on the right and continued through the intersection. That’s when the e-bike rider struck Shea. They then fled the scene with the bike. Shea was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious injuries. According to NHPD Chief David Zannelli, police are currently collecting and reviewing footage from city and private cameras in an attempt to track and identify the motorcyclist. Zannelli said that it was dark and raining, and it appears the driver might have had his face covered. “It’s obviously completely unacceptable what happened to him,” Zannelli said, “and we’re gonna do our best to find out who’s responsible.” Neighbors have long advocated for a Whalley Avenue that is safer for pedestrians. The street is owned by the state and falls under the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. “The bike lanes in general have been helpful, but I just think that we need more traffic calming,” Zannelli said. “The street cameras will be helpful.” Regarding Shea, the police chief added, “As far as I know, he was doing everything right.” “Mike Shea is a longtime professor in Southern Connecticut State University’s English Department. He is in stable but critical condition following surgery over the weekend,” SCSU Interim Director of University Communications Marketing Allison O’Leary told the Independent in an email statement. “The Southern community hopes more information will emerge about the circumstances surrounding the accident. We are keeping Mike and his family in our thoughts and wishing him strength as he recovers.” Shea’s colleague and friend Andrew Smyth, who also teaches English at SCSU, described Shea as an “institution.” Shea frequently teaches the university’s Shakespeare and film courses. Smyth recalled that when he began at SCSU 22 years ago, Shea and his wife invited him over to their Morris Cove home his very first weekend in New Haven. He said that they frequently open their home to newcomers and members of the community. Shea, Smyth said, is a major supporter of the arts in New Haven. Additionally, “he’s a phenomenal teacher and academic leader.” “He’s a major presence on our campus and through the department,” Smyth said. He previously chaired their department, and he teaches Shakespeare — faculty enjoyed the punniness of “Shea-kespeare” — as well as film. He loves film, Smyth said. “He always wanted to get in a late-night movie if he could.” Smyth lives in Westville himself, about a mile from the crash site. He passes through that intersection often. The crash occurred outside of Lyric Hall, which is located at the intersection of Whalley and West Rock Avenue and doubles as both an antique restoration studio and a theater. On Friday night, Cavaliere told the Independent, Lyric Hall was hosting a screening of Karyl K. Evans’ documentary “The New Haven Green: Heart of a City.” He was also moderating a panel discussion about the Green that followed. “It was just disheartening to see the yellow, ‘do not cross’ tape,” after leaving, Cavaliere said. Cavaliere wasn’t sure if Shea had attended the screening at Lyric Hall. He noted that he had heard the restaurant RAWA had been busy that night. Cavaliere has long pushed for a safer, slower Whalley. His advocacy, alongside that of west-side State Rep. Pat Dillon, helped the state introduce some traffic-calming measures to that stretch of Westville, including the very crosswalk that connects his store to Edgewood Park and that Shea was using. “We’re at the epicenter here,” Cavaliere said of risk to pedestrian safety on Whalley. “It’s like crossing I-95.” Cavaliere thinks that the issue has come to a “breaking point.” He called for paving the crosswalk with brick and brightening the striping to better signal to drivers to slow down, like on Whitney Avenue near Audubon. “It’s just open season on pedestrians,” he said. He hopes that this latest incident of a pedestrian struck on Whalley might at the very least bring the state to find a better solution to the problem. The post SCSU Prof Injured In Hit--Run appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less