Gunshots heard before SUV rolled onto pedestrians; 1 dead, 5 hurt

One person is dead and five others were hurt after a crash caused an SUV to overturn onto several pedestrians and three other cars in New Orleans on Easter Sunday.

According to the New Orleans Police Department, the crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. near the intersection of Pauger and North Miro streets. Police say a driver of a Chevrolet Suburban was driving the wrong way on Pauger Street "at a high rate of speed" when he crossed over to North Miro Street and was struck by a Honda Accord. The impact caused the Suburban to overturn, striking the pedestrians.

The NOPD initially reported that the driver of the Suburban drove away from the scene, was later was arrested and died at a hospital. However, the police department later issued a correction, saying that the driver of the Suburban and it's occupants ran away from the crash and instead one of the pedestrians was killed in the crash.

Police say that the driver of the Suburban is now wanted in connection with the deadly hit-and-run. No arrests have been made yet in this case.

Neighbors identified the man who was killed as 57-year-old Joseph Clark. They said Clark was sitting in a chair outside a home where the crash happened.

"How are you come through here and kill my brother like this," Jimmy Brady, a long-time friend of Clark said.

Brady said his sister and brother-in-law were also struck in the crash and are being treated in an ICU. His brother-in-law's cousin was also struck and was unresponsive after the crash.

Neighbors say they heard gunshots just before the crash. The NOPD confirmed that there were reports of a shooting nearby around the time of the crash, but it is unknown if the shooting the crash are linked.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run is asked to call NOPD fatality investigator Edgar Edwards at 504-658-6201, the NOPD at 504-821-2222 or Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.