Hit & Run

by Scott Feldman

11 year old Joey Larocca isn't going to the beach this summer. Or playing his favorite sports. And if he wants to hang around with his friends, they're going to have to come to him. A few weeks ago, Joey and a buddy, on bicycles, had just crossed over a walking bridge at Spur Drive North and East Farmingdale Street in Islip Terrace. That's when a commercial van struck Joey. He and his bicycle, got tangled up for a moment, in the van's bumper. But then, the driver and passenger, both men, after briefly stopping, drove away.

Joey's legs are broken. One has pins in it. The other, rods. He spends the day playing Wii games with his younger brother, Gio. And texting friends on a new cell phone. 

Joey's mom, Tracy, told me," I'm very angry, angry and not understanding how they can hit a child, any child for that matter, and leave them there."

Tracy says Joey refuses to talk about the accident. She's not certain whether he knows exactly how it happened. But to show you what this little boy with a great smile and great attitude is all about, Tracy says when she arrived at the scene, it was Joey comforting her. She says, "he kept rubbing my face and telling me mommy, I'm ok, don't cry."

Police think the van may have been working in the area. They describe it as light blue, in poor condition and marked with colorful graffiti. The passenger side window is rectangular and covered with a white, weathered, mesh-like material.

Tracy is pleading with the driver and passenger to come forward, saying, "you've had time to think about it, to know what you have done wrong. Please, just find it in your heart to have some compassion for my son and turn yourself in."

Joey is going to be laid up for another 6 to 8 weeks. Tracy is hopeful he'll be okay. And there will be no complications. For his part, Joey says, "I just want to be healed. I want to be able to run around again and stuff like that, just be a normal kid, again."

If you have any information about this case, Suffolk police want to hear from you. Call their Crimestoppers hotline at 1-800-220-TIPS.