Melville Hit-And-Run Death Prompts Calls For Traffic Light
MELVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police are still looking for the driver who ran over an elderly Melville man as he tried to cross one of the region's most deadly roads.
As TV 10/55 Long Island Bureau Chief Richard Rose reported, Robert Hosking, a retired Northrop Grumman worker, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as Hosking tried to cross Route 110 in Melville.
A still-dazed and grieving Amy Hosking spent Monday gathering her 85-year-old father's belongings from his Melville home.
"He was supposed to go to a picnic on Saturday," she said.
In the last five years, a dozen pedestrians have been killed on Route 110, with some critics rating it one of the top 10 most dangerous roads.
"People go way too fast to begin with," said David Katz, of Melville. "So definitely put in a yellow light, or a stop sign, or a light, or do something -- because it's not going to work the way it is."
Hosking was killed in front of Raj Rametra's liquor store. After witnessing numerous accidents, the store owner believes there should be a traffic light where Hosking was trying to cross.
"The car came in and hit him and then ran away," Rametra said. "It was a hit-and-run."
Rametra's store security cameras capture a grainy picture of what police describe as a green vehicle that suffered front-end damage.
But on Friday night, Hosking tried to cross a block away from the nearest traffic light, something local Barbara Greenberg said she would never dare do.
"It's a heavily-trafficked road that, you just are taking your life in your hands if you cross it," she said.
Amy Hosking said how ever it happened, the driver needs to step forward.
"You deserve to be left on the side of the road," she said. "You knew you hit him. You couldn't have not known you hit him."
The New York State Department of Transportation said it will look into whether additional safety measures are needed in the area. But the department advised everyone to follow the rules of the road – whether it is pedestrians crossing in the middle of the block or drivers not obeying the posted speed limit.
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
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