Meriden police responded to a fatal car crash on Crown Street around 11:30 Friday night and found the vehicle on fire with the driver dead inside and the passenger no where to be found.
Police said the 2000 Lincoln SUV was on fire by the time they reached the scene at 196 Crown Street in Meriden. After putting the fire out, they discovered the driver’s body and noticed that a passenger had fled the scene. Officers sent a K-9 unit but were unable to find the passenger.
Police said the car was traveling south on Crown Street when the driver hit three parked cars on the left side of the road, then crashed into two more cars on the right side of the road. The medical examiner is using dental records to identify the driver and the accident reconstruction unit is investigating the cause of the accident.