BX. HIT-RUN JERK LOOKED, TOOK OFF
Tot, granny OK after scare; driver hunted
A Bronx family plans a big Christmas Eve birthday party for a toddler who survived a hitand-run accident, but has nothing but contempt for the Scrooge who left the injured boy and his battered grandma in the street.
The 2-year-old toddler was laughing and playing Tuesday, a day after a callous driver plowed into the 62-year-old grandmother and a stroller she was pushing with the boy inside across Eastchester Road in Pelham Gardens around 2:20 p.m. Monday.
Disturbing surveillance video shows a red GMC Terrain Denali turning left from Mace Road and hitting them.
Witnesses told cops the driver pulled over down the block, and walked back to the crash scene. The video shows him looking on while startled pedestrians called 911.
He then ran back to his SUV and drove off without identifying himself, cops said.
Both the grandmother and grandson were taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where the toddler was treated for a minor head wound.
The woman, Bema Memadi, bruised her leg but refused medical attention. She said she couldn’t stop thinking about the close call.
“I was taking him to buy little candy in the store,” Memadi said. “I’m so tired. I’m so depressed. I’m traumatized. I can’t see the video anymore.”
Memadi’s son, Joe Mema, 28, said his mother keeps replaying the incident in her head. A news report on television about the incident didn’t help. Memadi put her head in her hands and sniffled. She couldn’t watch.
“She’s in pain,” Mema said. “She fell, too, but all she can think about is the baby and his well-being at this point. “We’re thankful, too. Thank God, because it could have been a totally different story.”
The boy is handling it better than his grandma, Mema said.
“He’s doing good, he’s doing good,” Mema said. “He’s up and playing and laughing. He’s a little kid. Thank God he’s OK.”
The little boy turns 3 on Christmas Eve, and Mema said a little celebration will help them all feel better.
“We’re going to throw him a big party,” Mema said. “We’re so happy he turned out to be OK. We’re going to celebrate.”
As for the man behind the wheel, Mema thinks he should get coal in his stocking, a suspended license and a little time in jail.
“We can’t put into words what we would say, but he definitely has to be more alert,” Mema said. “He definitely has to reevaluate his driving abilities, because he had time to look at the street.
“It’s not like he was blindsided in any way. You could see the other cars just moving straight, and he had to wait for the other cars and then make the turn, but he decided to go. We’re very angry, but hopefully justice is served.”
There have been no arrests. Anyone with information about the driver is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.