Possible Break In Hit & Run Of Jogger In The Gables
CORAL GABLES(CBS4) - Surveillance tape involving a hit and run accident of a Coral Gables jogger Monday night may be a promising lead, according to the police.
"I know I needed to call somebody so I called police and I called you guys to see if we could get him," said homeowner Matthew Meehan in an interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench.
CBS4 was the first to broadcast the surveillance tape on Tuesday at noon. It was given to all of the media late Tuesday afternoon.
Meehan turned first to the police and CBS4 after security cameras at his home on South Greenway Drive captured what appeared to be a red F150 pickup truck going westbound on South Greenway Drive towards Red Road.
Forty six-year-old Odiliana Gonzalez was jogging when she was struck by a vehicle around 6 p.m. at the intersection of Country Club Prado and South Greenway Drive. That is one block east of Red Road and three blocks west of Meehan's home.
Police said witnesses described a vehicle that was leaving the scene as a "red car, possibly a jeep." They also say the red truck captured by Meehan's cameras was the only red vehicle captured on camera around the time of the accident.
The vehicle then took off northbound on Red Road after the accident. Police said there was a "good possibility" that the truck on Meehan's cameras was involved in the hit-and-run accident.
"It's a pretty beat up red truck," Meehan told D'Oench. "He didn't even stop for the stop sign as you see on this tape. He just went right through it. If you have seen this vehicle you should definitely call police."
"Living here on the golf course you see people hit all the time," said Meehan. "We have accidents at this
intersection. We see people jogging all the time here and as a resident we need to do everything to make sure that people stay safe. We need to catch the people who are speeding."
Angel Pinto told D'Oench that he was jogging with Gonzalez. He said he did not see the vehicle that hit his girlfriend but he hopes the new surveillance tape will prove to be a good lead.
"The only thing I can say is that whoever did this had to have known he hit a person," said Pinto. "On behalf of the family, we plead to the public that if they anything, they should let the police know so we can catch the person who did this."
Pinto said it would mean a great deal to Gonzalez's family if the driver was caught.
"It's one less person like this who would be off the street," he said. "I would like to say that if he has a conscience he should turn himself and let justice serve itself."
Pinto said Gonzalez had three fractures in her right leg.
"She's had one operation and may need another," said Gonzalez.
Police said she was in serious but stable condition at Doctor's Hospital in Coral Gables.
Anyone who can help Coral Gables police with this case is urged to call them or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
