LEWISTON — A local man who was killed in a hit-and-run accident Sunday morning was lying in the road when he was struck, police said.

Louie J. St. Pierre, 48, of Lewiston, was pronounced dead at Central Maine Medical Center after he was taken there by United Ambulance, according to Lewiston police.

St. Pierre was hit on Pleasant Street near the intersection of Mitchell Street around 12:30 a.m. Witnesses described the vehicle that left the scene as a white or light colored SUV.

Lt. David St. Pierre, who is not related to the man who was killed, said Lewiston police received a call about a man lying in the road at 12:24 a.m. Sunday. He said a witness had stopped to check on the man and was talking to him when she heard a car coming.

“The witness tried to alert the car of his presence to no avail. The car hit him and continued on,” he said. “We’re trying to locate the driver of the vehicle … We’re also trying to determine why he was in the roadway to start with.”

Police are waiting on toxicology tests to determine whether St. Pierre was under the influence at the time. 

“There’s very little information that the witness can offer as to his state of mind or why he was there or if he had any preexisting injuries,” David St. Pierre said.

He urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Lewiston police.

“We’d like to hear their side of the story,” he said. “If anybody knows anything or saw anything, we’d love to hear from them.”

Police say a man was killed in the center of Pleasant Street just east of Mitchell Street in Lewiston early Sunday morning. Pleasant Street was closed between Mitchell Street and Alfred A Plourde Parkway while police investigated. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)