Arrest Made In Hit & Run Which Mangled Man's Leg
MIAMI(CBS4) Police have made an arrest in the hit and run which left a man's leg mangled Monday morning in Miami.
Earlier today his wife , please for the public's help to find the hit and run driver.
"It's very difficult. I have a girl who is 5 and a boy who is 9," said Melida Arroliga with tears streaming down her face outside the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. "And with this problem, what am I going to do?"
Arroliga told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "He is the only one who sustained the family."
Arroliga's husband of 12 years, Ismael Martinez, was rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center by Miami Firefighter-Paramedics after the accident that happened at 7:30 a.m. on the side of the road next to their work truck in front of 701 S.W. 64th Avenue.
Arroliga was not sure if her husband's leg could be successfully re-attached by doctors.
"They're going to try to help him with his leg," she said. "They're going to try to help save it."
Police say Martinez was struck and his son Fidel Duarte was slightly injured while they working on a concrete construction project.
"I don't know where he was coming from," Duarte said. "I got hit by the rim. I didn't see the car. I was underneath the truck. It was a big hit. The car was going fast. My father. That's the best that there is."
One neighbor who identified herself as "Vanessa" said, "I think this was an animal act. Neighbors say one person yelled at him to stop. I think that's cruel."
Another neighbor who asked that she not be identified said, "It's alarming. People go more than 70 miles per hour sometimes on Southwest 64th Avenue. It's sad. It is disgusting that somebody would drive off like that. The victim is a human being. This was gross."
Cruz said police were looking for an older-model, tan Ford Explorer with extensive front-end damage, dark-tinted windows and a partial Florida tag of IDJ or EDJ.
"There is extensive damage and he could have a broken windshield," said Cruz.
The driver of the Ford Explorer was seen heading south towards Flagler Street.
Martinez went through some extensive surgery Monday afternoon at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Doctors were able to save his leg. and the family says its relieved an arrest has been made.
Miami Police are looking for any surveillance tape that could lead them to the driver of the hit and run vehicle.
Anyone with information about this case should call Miami Police or Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477). Callers are kept confidential and they can be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
