A burly bald man in a bright orange jacket rammed a 3-year-old girl with a moped and dragged the child several feet in front of the child’s stunned mother as he drove down a Bronx sidewalk, police said Saturday.
The child suffered a fractured skull and scratches and bruises to her face, authorities said. Police have released images of the man involved in the collision in the hope that someone will recognize him.
The child, identified as Mylah Rojas, stepped out of a building near Holland Ave. on Friday around 1 p.m. near Burke Ave. in Williamsbridge when the moped rider drove past her.
The blue moped, which had stripes on the side, clipped the child as it passed and dragged her for several feet before falling over, the child’s panicked mother told ABC Eyewitness News.
‘She stepped down the stairs. I was right behind her and he just came out of nowhere and dragged her,” said the child’s mother, Mariel Rojas. “He fell. Then he got off the scooter and walked towards us, but when he saw her face bleeding, he left.”
The ambulance service was called and took the child to Jacobi hospital with minor injuries.
It is illegal to ride a moped on the city’s sidewalk, officials said.
Detectives who searched the area found surveillance images of the driver who was hit, both on the moped and off, without an orange jacket. A video shows the suspect walking down the street without a jacket, limping slightly.
Police described the man as having dark skin and a heavy build. In addition to the orange jacket, the moped rider wore black sweatpants and black sandals.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All conversations are treated confidentially.
