A Staten Island pediatrician has been charged with mowing down a father and his 6-year-old daughter as they were crossing the street, then leaving the scene of the accident. Victims' families and supporters are horrified, telling the Post they feel betrayed that a medical scientist would do something like this. It is said that he acted with such “calculated evil.”
Police say Dr. Sam Luuzzi, 66, was riding on the shoulders of Guy Seth, 51, and his father at busy Arthur Kill and Drumgoole streets in Greenridge on January 9. He drove a black GMC truck to his daughter Zoe.
The girl suffered a fractured skull and required surgery, and her father suffered a concussion.
Family lawyer Ravi Batra said neither of them remembered being hit.
“he [father, Guy] He continued to hold her even though she was being beaten. He probably saved her life,” Batra said of the 5:10 p.m. accident.
“My daughter thought her father was dead,” said Gosia Seth, 40, noting that Zoe had seen her father unconscious and bleeding from the head.
The father and daughter were walking the family's Yorkie, Coco, who was unharmed.
Luzzi, a resident of Middletown, New Jersey, who has a thriving business in the Grant City area of Staten Island, was arrested the day after the accident and charged with leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it. This is a misdemeanor violation of right of way. Failure to comply with due care laws, according to the criminal complaint.
“I couldn't believe he would leave the scene,” said Gosia Seth, Zoe's mother.
The 5-foot-11, 184-pound girl was carrying Zoe, who is 3-foot-6 and 38 pounds, on her shoulders and holding her leg when she was struck by a black truck.
“When you think of pediatricians, you think of 'trust.' Accidents can happen. But if you have the medical knowledge, why not stay there and help? I can't handle this yet. . I can't believe it,” she said.
Luuzzi's lawyer claims the doctor stopped and helped the victim.
According to the complaint, Luzzi later told investigators, “I was driving. I tried to make a left turn and I struck a pedestrian, an adult, and a child.''
“I didn't tell anyone that I was the driver, and I didn't give out my information because no one asked. I left. I felt terrible about what had happened, so I left in the morning. I was going to the police station.”
Luzzi has pleaded not guilty, been released on his own recognizance and returned to work.
At issue is whether Luzzi, who has been a doctor for 38 years, has been involved in relief efforts or interacted with first responders.
Lawyer Joseph Corozzo argued that Luzzi “remained at the scene, tended to both parties, and awaited the ambulance that would take father and daughter to the hospital.” The NYPD and the District Attorney's Office presented evidence proving that this was an accident that occurred during a severe and violent storm. The evidence further supports that Dr. Luzzi remained at the scene and communicated with police officers. ”
“In accordance with his faith and the Hippocratic Oath, Luzzi prays for the recovery of Zoe and Guy Seth,” his attorney said.
Little Zoe, a first-grader at Greek Classical Charter School in Staten Island, faces a “long road ahead” after undergoing surgery for a fractured skull at Cohen Children's Medical Center in Queens, and her father is undergoing extensive rehabilitation. facing. His family says he still suffers from double vision.
Seth and the others want answers.
The attorney said he had heard that Luuzzi stopped the bleeding girl on the street, picked her up and placed her on the sidewalk, but did not call 911, and that Luuzzi called police at the scene. He said he had heard that he had spoken to the suspect, but “did not tell the police that he was doing this.'' The man who did it. ”
“The calculating evil in him came out like Jekyll and Hyde, and he then left without telling the police what he had done,” Batra said. “He risked their lives. “I put myself at risk,” he added.
Created by a family friend gofundme To reduce rising medical costs for families. Gosia Seth is a Manhattan waitress and Guy Seth is a maintenance worker for the New York City Police Department.
The Staten Island District Attorney's Office declined to comment “beyond the criminal charges.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
