By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY — State authorities are searching for a driver who fled the scene after striking and killing a pedestrian Friday evening on State Route 266, southwest of Safford.
According to statements from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) and incident reports from the Graham County Sheriff’s Office, emergency personnel were dispatched at approximately 7:32 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, to milepost 118 on State Route 266 following reports of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision.
Dispatch advised responding officers that a vehicle — reported by a caller as possibly a white sedan — struck a male pedestrian in the eastbound lane and continued driving eastbound toward Safford, fleeing the area. The victim was identified in initial dispatch reporting as Ed Cassano.
Graham County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the location around 7:52 p.m. and determined the victim was beyond medical help. Lifeline medical personnel were dispatched but turned away upon arrival after deputies confirmed the pedestrian had succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Deputies secured the area, blocking both eastbound and westbound lanes, and held three vehicles that had stopped at the scene shortly after the incident occurred. None of the vehicles present displayed obvious damage consistent with the impact.
One witness, a Department of Corrections employee traveling to work at the Fort Grant Prison, told deputies he was driving about 25 mph due to lightning in the area when he encountered the scene moments before law enforcement arrived. He noted he did not observe the collision itself or see a white sedan along the route.
DPS troopers arrived shortly after and assumed control of the primary investigation, conducting individual interviews with drivers stopped near the scene. Deputies assisted with scene security and traffic control, rerouting westbound traffic on SR 266 for several hours until DPS reopened the highway around 1:27 a.m. Saturday morning.
DPS Media Relations Specialist Bart Graves confirmed the pedestrian died at the scene from injuries sustained in the crash and reaffirmed that the involved passenger vehicle failed to remain at the location.
The hit-and-run investigation remains active and ongoing under the direction of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Anyone with information regarding the crash or a white sedan with recent front-end damage observed traveling near SR 266 on Friday evening is urged to contact local law enforcement or DPS.
