Man Badly Hurt In Hit-And-Run Accident Wants Driver To Turn Herself In
LOS FELIZ (CBSLA) -- A man named Darrel doesn't want his face shown.
But he wanted to put a face on what happens to the victim of a hit-and-run accident.
"I've been through a nightmare," he told CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Rachel Kim.
He wants everyone to see his injuries and hear his story.
"It could've been worse, I could've been paralyzed. I could have been in a coma, I could be dead," he said.
It happened on May 19, just before 11:30 p.m.
Darrel was crossing Hollywood Boulevard just east of Vermont Avenue to meet a friend who was picking him up for a late dinner. His friend was parked in a white SUV when a dark colored sedan accelerated out of the gas station. When the driver turned left, she hit Darrel in the street.
"I saw her, like everything was in slow motion, She is going to hit me. I can't believe it. Next thing I knew I was over the hood, over the windshield, over the roof, in the air and on the ground," he says.
Darrel had to get reconstructive surgery on his knee, suffered bruised ribs and back injuries. He's just now getting out of the hospital.
The LAPD says this security video from the gas station shows the suspect minutes before as she drove in and parked in front of the mini-mart.
"She actually asked the cashier there what time wass the last time they sell alcohol and she left, she didn't even buy anything," says Det. Moses Castillo with the LAPD.
The woman eventually gets back in her car and soon approaches the exit. After she makes the left turn and hits Darrel, she takes off. Darrel's friend tried to go after her.
"She was so far ahead, he couldn't catch up to her, she was blowing red lights," Castillo says.
Police are asking the public to help them identify the woman who was behind the wheel of a dark blue Honda Accord.
"What I'm concerned about is the fact that she asked for alcohol leads me to believe maybe alcohol may be a factor in this, so I really want to get her off the streets," says Castillo.
Darrel is also hoping the woman comes forward.
"Do the right thing, turn yourself in, be responsible, accept the consequences for your actions," Darrel says.
