An 88-year-old man riding his bicycle on a Queens street was struck and critically hurt by a hit-and-run driver, police and witnesses say.
The elderly man was riding his mountain bike on 131st Street near Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park when a blue sedan struck him, police said. The driver apparently never stopped, according to witnesses.
Neighbor Xavier Paul was inside his home when he heard the crash. He ran out to find the victim lying in the street, badly injured.
Paul said he thought "'Oh, my God' and "Where's the driver?' He's nowhere to be found."
Buddha Cardona was standing in front of his house when he said he saw the moment the car hit the victim, whom he's known for years.
"It gases to go forward -- at that point, the old man moves faster," he said. "I noticed the old man veers right to the path of the car."
The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition with a head injury.
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Cardona said the man he calls Mohammed often rides his bike to stay active.
Bystanders did what they could to help the victim before the ambulance arrived, they said. People chased the car and got a partial license plate number, but police are not releasing that yet.
