Police boss apologises to hit-and-run victim

Joe Luccarini suffered a neck fracture in the hit-and-run in August 2024

The family of a man badly hurt in a suspected hit-and-run crash have been offered an "unreserved" apology for how police treated the case.

Joe Luccarini, 32, suffered a neck fracture when he was struck by a car in Haverhill in August 2024.

Suffolk Police closed its investigation six months later, but then reopened it after the BBC highlighted the case on Friday. The force said it was reassessing the "psychological impact" on Mr Luccarini.

The county's police and crime commissioner, Tim Passmore, said he was "extremely disappointed" with how it had been handled.

Mr Passmore said "mistakes have been made".

"I'm really sorry and unreservedly apologise that things have not gone as well as they should've done," he told the BBC.

"I'm extremely disappointed that we've got to this situation, that's why I deliberately spoke to [the victim's sister] Emily yesterday."

Emily Luccarini said her brother, Joe, had lost faith in the police

Emily was initially told the investigation had been closed due to a six-month time limit on taking fail-to-stop incidents to court.

However, the law states this time limit does not apply in cases of causing serious injury by careless driving.

Suffolk Police said it was now assessing if what happened to Mr Luccarini met this criminal threshold.

The family said they were only contacted by police after the BBC highlighted their concerns.

Pledging to hold the force to account for this, Mr Passmore added: "I need to understand what could've been improved, why that happened."

Tim Passmore is the police and crime commissioner for Suffolk, overseeing the budget and performance of the local force

Miss Luccarini, 34, previously described her autistic brother as having been left on the road "like an animal" and unconscious after the crash.

He was later found by a supermarket worker who called the emergency services.

Two days after the incident, a potential suspect vehicle was found, and the person believed to have been the driver was spoken to the following day.

Suffolk Police said it had sufficient grounds to make an arrest on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving and failing to stop after a road accident, and attended two properties on 19 August.

However, a force spokesperson said the individual was not present at either address, and they learnt he had fled to London.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, but police said there was no information on where he might be, and his mobile phone was no longer active.

Miss Luccarini said Suffolk Police was yet to apologise to her.

Confirming it had reopened the case, Suffolk Police said the force had not been "made aware of the extent of the psychological impact of the collision on the victim".

"There is scope to consider charges for serious injury based on the psychological impact of the collision," a spokesman added.

The force has been contacted for further comment.