Chicago man recovering from hit-and-run demands justice, wants police to do more

The victim of a violent hit-and-run is speaking about his near-death experience and calls for justice after more than a week with no answers.

He was just blocks from his house when the incident happened. He was struck on the left side of his body by a driver who never even slowed down.

Anthony Martinez can't walk properly and only gets around with the use of crutches. He says he has soft tissue damage, a bone bruise on his left leg and his body is recovering from road rash.

It was last Wednesday around 7 p.m. when he was in the crosswalk, crossing Fullerton at Kimball when he says a car came barreling through the intersection trying to beat a bus and make a left turn.

“All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I kind of saw a car coming and I jumped to get out of the way and he clipped my leg,” Martinez said.

He says he wasn't distracted and even momentarily locked eyes with the driver before he hit him.

“He was driving one of those built to kill 1960s steel frame Cadillac or Chevy gigantic boat of a car, so it was pretty painful,” he said.

Martinez says he filed a police report, but no one has contacted him.

“Even though CPD is very busy, I would think that somebody walking across the street and being hit by a car would be a priority,” Martinez said.

A Chicago police spokesperson confirms this is an active investigation and they are looking for the dark brown older model Chevrolet car. One witness told police the license plate ended in either “AD” or “AU”.

Police say they haven't been able to track down surveillance video of the incident, but if they do find good images they will release them to the public to help find the driver.