VIDEO: Driver Mows Down NJ Gas Station Attendant After Allegedly Skipping $25 Tab
CLIFTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The search is on for a hit-and-run driver who was caught on camera mowing down a New Jersey gas station attendant after allegedly not paying the bill.
Attendant Atilla Tas said he filled up the tank for the driver, whose face was blocked in surveillance video by gas pumps, at the Shell gas station on Route 3 in Clifton on Thursday.
When it came time to pay the $25 tab, the driver took off, Tas said.
"When I finish, I ask for money. He just run away," Tas told CBS2's Meg Baker.
The 56-year-old gas attendant sprinted after the thief onto the highway.
"He made a U-turn. I tried to block him," Tas said. "I say maybe he forgot to pay me. He hit me."
Tas said it all happened so quickly.
The impact knocked him on top of the sedan. The driver briefly stopped and then just kept going.
Tas was back at work Friday, but said he has some pain and swelling in his legs.
"I'm lucky to be alive," he said.
Friend Newroz Dilvn said Tas is a "very humble family person. Works very hard to support his family. I never see this guy spending one day in bed at home even when he's sick."
Police are still searching for the driver of the light-colored sedan.