Enfield Hit-And-Run Victim Dies Of Complications From Injuries, According To Family

ENFIELD, CT — A man who was struck by a vehicle and left lying in a roadside ditch while walking to work last fall has succumbed to complications resulting from his injuries, his family told Patch.

Around 6 a.m. on Oct. 31, Dana Morse, 51, was walking to work at Brooks Brothers on Phoenix Avenue when he was struck by an unknown vehicle. He was discovered by a passing motorist about an hour later in a ditch near the corner of Phoenix and Post Road, suffering from life-threatening injuries, his wife, Michelle, told Patch.

Morse was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford with a fractured neck, four fractures to his spine, a fractured shoulder, ruptured ligaments in his spine and traumatic internal injuries, leading to multiple emergency surgeries, his wife said.

After two months of hospitalization and a stint in a rehabilitation center, the father of four daughters and a grandfather continued his recovery efforts at home. However, complications from the internal injuries took their toll, and he died unexpectedly in his home on April 10, his wife said.

"It has been a long, hard road for Dana," Michelle Morse said. "He was still going to therapy and doctors several times a week. He was determined physically disabled for life and lived daily in chronic severe pain 24/7. We are ever so grateful for the overwhelming love and support during his long and difficult recovery. Despite his long battle to heal, we are thankful he is now at rest and no longer in chronic, severe pain daily."

An extensive police investigation has thus far yielded no arrests.

"The matter is open and very actively being investigated," Police Chief Alaric Fox told Patch.

Meanwhile, calling hours and funeral services are being arranged for April 25-26 with Biega Funeral Home in Middletown, where Morse was born. The graduate of Haddam-Killingworth High School will be buried alongside his father in Saint Sebastian Cemetery, also in Middletown, according to his wife.

To help defray the cost of funeral and burial expenses, a GoFundMe account has been established. It may be accessed here.