Stonington ― Police announced Wednesday that they have identified a person of interest in the hit and run crash that killed bicyclist Gary Piver on March 6.

Police did not identify the suspected driver in a news release they issued Wednesday morning but said there is progress in the investigation as a result of police finding and seizing the vehicle that struck Piver two days after the incident, on March 8.

There has been a great deal of interest among residents over the past six weeks about the investigation and if an arrest is being made.

“There have been some people inquiring, and an investigation of this type can take some time. We just wanted to let people know that we are continuously working on it and working with the state’s attorney’s office and other agencies putting it all together,” Deputy Chief Todd Olson said on Wednesday.

Olson declined to provide specific details in the ongoing investigation but provided an overview of the investigative process.

“In a case like this one, there’s a lot of parts to it which include processing the vehicles—whether it’s a bicycle or a car—interviewing many people, pursuing any kind of video evidence that may exist, working with the state’s attorney’s office, especially with any evidence that might be obtained from the involved vehicles. That all takes time, because it’s also working with the state (crime) lab that is extremely backed up with all the work they have to do,” he said.

”It’s an involved investigation that we want to ensure is done properly,” he added.

Police have said the 69-year-old Piver, a lifelong resident and custodian at the high school, was riding his bicycle westbound with traffic on Route 1 at 10:44 p.m. on Monday, March 6 when he was struck by a dark gray Toyota SUV traveling west. The SUV fled after hitting Piver in the area of a small commercial building at 210 South Broad St. that houses three business just west of the high school.

Westerly Ambulance took Piver to Westerly Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Piver would have turned 70 on March 7.

Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call them at (860) 599-4411.