A Dorchester man was fatally shot during a confrontation along a busy stretch of Columbia Road yesterday, sending passersby scattering for cover as police chased a suspect, who eluded capture.

“I heard a loud pop; it sounded like a car crash,” said Arlene Hall, pastor of Deliverance Temple of God, at Columbia Road and Devon Street, about 20 feet from where the victim, identified by relatives as Andrew Keith, 22, was shot multiple times about 3:30 p.m.