HARRISON, N.Y. -- According to New York State Police, 32-year-old Salvatore Brescia, a tow truck operator from Yonkers, was helping a disabled minivan shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday on I-95 near Exit 18-B in Harrison.
Troopers say that, while the vehicle was being loaded on to the tow truck, a driver passing by struck Brescia.
"Traffic at the time of the collision was light to moderate," said Joseph Becerra, a New York State Police investigator. "There was no precipitation at the time. It was cloudy and it was dawn."
Investigators say the driver then fled the scene. So far, they don't have a description. Brescia was taken to a hospital in Connecticut, where he later died from his injuries.
“We just pray that nobody touches us,” said Leo Alesci, the owner of Leo’s Maple Service Station in the Town of Wallkill.
The Move Over law was expanded to tow truck operators in 2012. But Alesci says that, while assisting disabled vehicles on highways, drivers are still coming within inches of him.
“There [have] been several occasions where it felt like they were just about touching me, especially those big 18-wheelers,” Alesci said.
Since the law took effect in 2011, more than 77,000 tickets have been issued.
Alesci knows troopers can't catch every driver not following the law. But he hopes this latest tragedy will be a lesson to motorists on what can happen when they don't move over.
New York State Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver. Anyone with more information about the hit and run is asked to call the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Hawthorne at 914-769-2600.