Fort Lauderdale Police said Monday that they have found and seized the red Volkswagen Beetle involved in a recent hit-and-run crash with a young boy – and now need the public’s help identifying the driver.
In particular, police are asking a witness to come forward who they said followed the suspect vehicle in his black, four-door truck. After the crash last Tuesday around 6 p.m. on the 5200 block of Northeast 18th Avenue, the unidentified white male driver spoke with the driver of the Volkswagen before leaving the area, police said in a statement.
Police released a surveillance image of the black truck they said was taken from a nearby business.
Jenny Rivera’s 21-month-old son, Isaac Cruz, remains at Broward Health Medical Center in stable condition. The mother pleaded Monday with the driver that sent her son there to himself or herself in.
"Only the person (who) is a mother, a father, they can know what (I'm) feeling,” she said.
Isaac has an injury to his cranium, and his right hand won't move on its own.
Still, his mother said, "He's happy, he's smiling, he's my treasure." He never cries, said Rivera, but she has been.
The crash occurred when the boy left the sidewalk in front of his home and ran into oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes of Northeast 18th Avenue, where he was struck by the Volkswagen, police said. The driver continued to drive south on Northeast 18th Avenue, police said.
Police ask anyone with information on the case to call investigator Jill Hirsch at 954-828-5753.
More Local Stories:
- Teen Run Over By Broward County Bus In Stable Condition
- Chad Johnson Bonds Out After Being Ordered Back to Jail for Probation Violation
- Man Opened Fire Outside Girlfriend's Restaurant in Little Havana: Police
Photo Credit: Fort Lauderdale Police