Long Island Man Critical After Being Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver In Bay Shore
BAY SHORE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man is in critical condition after being struck by a hit-and-run driver on Monday night.
Victor Gonzalez Arevalo, 39, was walking to a deli with a friend along busy Fifth Avenue in Bay Shore at around 6:30 p.m. when both men were hit by an SUV as it turned right onto Fairtown Road, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Tuesday.
"He's in really bad condition," cousin Joaquin Gonzalez said.
The vehicle that struck both men kept on going.
Gonzalez Arevalo is an immigrant from El Salvador who works as painter. Family members shared a picture, which shows him hospitalized with broken ribs and pelvis. The friend walking with him was not seriously injured, and police were able to get a description of the vehicle.
"The operator of the vehicle fled the scene and the preliminary investigation reveals that the vehicle may be a white SUV," Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Gail Marrero said.
Police spent part of Tuesday going over surveillance video along the busy strip, as relatives absorbed the impact of a driver who didn't even get out to check on victims that were obviously injured.
"I feel really bad about it because they are humans like everybody else is, so that's not right," Gonzalez said.
Neighbors said speeding along the residential streets is a chronic problem.
"Eighty, 90. All day, you know? We need, maybe, a light," neighbor Miriam Hernandez said.
Suffolk police are asking witnesses to contact them. The white SUV may have visible front-end damage.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.