ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man lost part of his leg after a driver hit him and took off, and his girlfriend said police confirmed it was caught on video.
Police said it happened at the corner of Gravois and Hampton around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Jennifer Maechling said her boyfriend Brian Mataya was driving to Walgreens on a scooter but a few minutes after he left their home, he called her in a panic.
“It was frantic because I couldn't understand what he was trying to say and he finally said I had been hit,"Maechling said.
Mataya had been struck by an SUV at an intersection near their home, causing severe damage to his body.
"All I know is one witness said that he was thrown from the scooter and he skidded across the intersection," Maechling said.
And Maechling also said police told her surveillance footage shows the person responsible disappearing from the accident.
“They went around the back of Walgreens and came around and stopped and looked and then drove off again,” Maechling said.
The damage was so bad Mataya had to have part of his left leg amputated and that’s just a portion of the injuries he received.
"The blast to his ankle was so severe that the vascular team said it was too tough to try to repair it because they could only get a pulse out of one vain in the ankle anyway. And he has a broken right collarbone and damage to his left hand," Maechling said.
Now she’s hoping additional video footage from businesses nearby can help identify the person, so they can be held accountable.
“Just have a conscious please just if anything admit it, it will be off your shoulders it will be off of everyone's.”
Unfortunately, Mataya didn’t have health insurance so they set up a GoFundMe account to help with the medical expenses. To donate click here.
Police are asking for the public's assistance to identify this vehicle, it's described as a black SUV, possibly a Ford Escape. Anyone with information should contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-84777.
