Violent Hit-And-Run Leaves Man Dead, Witnesses Angry
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The hunt is on for a hit-and-run driver in Queens.
Police said a man was leaving dinner with friends when he was struck and killed, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported Sunday.
Melissa Acevedo desperately reached out to loved ones after witnessing a car slam into one of her friends and then callously speed away. She cradled the 29-year-old man as he lay dying in the street.
"I was holding him. I got his blood all over me," Acevedo said.
Police said it happened at around 6:30 p.m. in the dimly lit intersection of Continental Avenue and Exeter Street in Forest Hills.
Acevedo, a female friend and the victim had just finished having dinner together. The two women showed police how they were crossing Continental Avenue, the victim a few steps ahead of them, when a silver four-door sedan seemingly came out of nowhere and crashed into the victim, sending his body flying.
The impact so intense the man's shoe landed several yards away from him.
"He was walking toward him like this and boom," Acevedo said.
Another man heard the crash from inside his home.
"I just heard like a bang, a bang. And then I opened the door and I saw someone was lying there behind that car here and there was a girl screaming. She was distressed completely. It was horrible," a male witness said.
MORE: Police: Woman Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver In South Ozone Park, Queens
Police said the car drove away northbound through the tony residential neighborhood, where neighbors say drivers tend to ignore speed limits.
"People do drive very fast here, very fast," the man said.
But he said the ambulance didn't arrive as swiftly.
"I called 911 and it took forever. I tell you something, it took forever, 15 minutes to come," he said.
Witnesses said emergency responders tried to revive the victim at the scene, but he was later pronounced dead at North Shore Medical Center.