Middletown Pediatrician Hit Father And Little Girl, Left Scene: NYPD

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A pediatrician who lives in Middletown and has a practice on Staten Island is accused of leaving the scene of an accident after he hit a man and his 6-year-old daughter, according to the NYPD.

The man is Dr. Sam Leuzzi, 66, who lives on Garryford Drive in Middletown.

He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident where serious injury occurred; failure to show license/ID prior to leaving an accident scene and failure to yield to a pedestrian.

New York City Police released a description of what happened: At 5:10 p.m. Jan. 9, police responded to a car accident at Arthur Kill Road and Drumgoole Road West in Staten Island. Upon arrival, they found a man, 51, had been hit while crossing the street with his daughter, 6. The two were walking the family dog.

New York City Police say "an unknown black pick-up truck struck (them) and then fled the location in an unknown direction."

The little girl was on her dad's shoulders when they were hit, and she fell, fracturing her skull. Both father and daughter were rushed by ambulance to Staten Island University Hospital. However, due to the daughter having a brain bleed and needing immediate skull surgery, she was transferred to Children’s Medical Center in Long Island, according to this GoFundMe started to help the family.

The dog was not hit by the truck, and was uninjured.

"On Tuesday, January 9, tragedy struck Guy and his precious 6-year-old daughter, Zoey, in a hit-and-run accident on Drumgoole Road in Staten Island," it read. "Zoey was rushed to the Children’s Medical Center in Long Island, battling a brain bleed and skull fracture."

Her father suffered a concussion. While the little girl is now home from the hospital, both father and daughter have extensive rehab ahead of them.

The New York Post has dramatic photos that show both father and daughter injured; the father's face is still black and bruised and he has trouble seeing.

Leuzzi was arrested Jan. 10 by New York City Police officers. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.

Leuzzi's lawyer, Joseph Corozzo, told the Post that Leuzzi “remained on the scene tending to both parties and waited for the ambulance to take the father and daughter to the hospital." He also said "he’s heard one story that Leuzzi stopped and picked up the bleeding girl from the street and placed her on the sidewalk — but never called 911, and another that Leuzzi spoke to police at the scene but 'didn’t tell them he was the guy who did it.'"

Dr. Leuzzi practices on Richmond Road in Staten Island, and is affiliated with Northwell Health. Here is his physician profile.