Stoneham Hit-And-Run Victim Offers $5,000 Reward
STONEHAM (CBS) -- The victim of a hit-and-run is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver, police say.
The incident occurred Dec. 20 at 11:21 p.m. near 276 Main St. in Stoneham, police said.
It is the moment Mike Vining will never forget. "I put my left hand on door handle and next thing I know I was struck," Vining says.
A surveillance camera catches the heart stopping second where Vining was nearly killed. He was leaving a Stoneham restaurant when an SUV came speeding down Main Street and clipped him.
"I feel very fortunate I'm not dead," he says.
Luckily Mike is fine, just badly bruised, but it is what the driver did after hitting him, that has him so mad.
"The most upsetting thing is the fact that they know they struck someone and continued to drive," he says.
Detective Chris Dalis with the Stoneham police says, "It's very disturbing to us because it's one thing to hit vehicle, but to hit another human being… we want to get them off the street."
Police say witnesses saw him slow down and then take off.
Edward Aprile owns the restaurant and says, "A lot of people are scared, it could be any one of us, I park out there we all walk to our cars."
A terrifying accident, but now even worse and it's why Vining is offering up his own money, $5,000 to find the driver who hit him and ran.
"Have you seen the video?" he asks. "That's why I came forward. Very disturbing, my wife could have found me dead in the street."
Police say it was a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee with right front rear view mirror damage.
"We are asking anyone who may have been in the area, or who may have recently seen a damaged Jeep Grand Cherokee to please come forward," Police Chief James McIntyre said in a statement. "We also want to alert auto body shops. The driver of this vehicle ran down a Stoneham resident and fled the scene. If this person comes to your shop asking for a quick fix, call the police."
Anyone with information is urged to call police.
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