Wife of wheelchair-bound victim of hit-and-run driver seeks answers
MIAMI - The wife of a 60-year-old, wheelchair-bound man who was nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver is releasing new photographs of her husband in the hospital as she says, "I worry he may not make it."
As this happens, Miami-Dade Police investigators are still looking for the 18-wheeler that struck Oswaldo Rojas just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday and left the scene at N.W. 7th Ave. and 103rd St.
Marta Rojas, who has been married to Oswaldo for 15 years, has been at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital ever since the crash happened.
She fought back tears as she told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "I am shaking but I am shaking inside. It's really bad. I miss him a whole lot but I haven't been able to talk to him. I talk to him but he doesn't open his eyes because he is heavily sedated."
Rojas said her husband is in the intensive care unit and is on a ventilator while suffering with a partially-broken neck, a broken arm, severe bruises, and internal bleeding.
She said "He has a broken neck back here, not all the way but it has broken. He has a hematoma in his back. He is in intensive care. Yes, I worry he may not make it."
Surveillance tape obtained by CBS4 shows the moments before this accident happened. You see Rojas in the distance on the corner of an intersection in his wheelchair. Moments late, you see the yellow 18-wheeler that hit him, according to the store manager who gave us the video.
"He was in his wheelchair just crossing the street in a crosswalk and the trucker was going fast to beat the light and hit him right there. I feel terrible. How could a person not know he ran somebody over."
Now Rojas prays for her husband.
"It hurts terribly. But I have to stay strong because my mother-in-law lives with me and she is not well,'" she said.
She prays someone will come forward.
"Please, if you know something, please call the authorities or call whoever you can call. Maybe you were in the area and saw something. Please report. Don't be afraid. This is really urgent," she said. "He is in critical condition.
Miami-Dade Police said they had no information to release about the semi-truck. They said it is possible that the driver did not realize that he or she hit Rojas.
Anyone with information that can help is urged to call Miami-Dade Police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
There is a reward of up to $1,000 and callers will remain anonymous.
