Car Hits Man in Wheelchair, Flees: NYPD, Witnesses

Police are investigating a hit-and-run in Brooklyn that critically injured a 70-year-old man on a motorized wheelchair. 

Police and witnesses say a small SUV was going north on 25th Avenue when it turned onto 85th Street in Bensonhurst and hit the man on an electric wheelchair. 

The vehicle continued on and nearly slammed into a teenage girl who told NBC 4 New York at the scene she was barely able to escape its path before it continued barreling down 85th Street, barreling through red lights. 

"I couldn't believe it at first," said the girl, 15-year-old Jennifer Fahmy. "I immediately ran to the guy. He was barely moving." 

The man in the wheelchair was taken to Lutheran Hospital in very critical condition. 

The crash is the latest in a string of startling hit-and-runs in the city. In just an eight-hour span on Sunday, three pedestrians in three boroughs were killed. 

The mayor's office told NBC 4 New York Monday it's pushed for stiffer penalties for drivers who leave the scene, but the decision to act is up to the state. 

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