Family of hit and run victim speaks

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. - "I was in Miami when it happened, my mom told me my dad was run over," said Dairys Diaz, the victim's daughter.

It was a phone call Diaz never expected. "I didn't know if he was dead or alive, I was very scared."

Diaz's mother and father were visiting relatives in Royal Palm Beach, when deputies say a speeding driver nearly killed her father, Jose Antonio Diaz.

"My mom told me they were ready to go to bed and he wanted to get his glasses, and when he went out to get them, that's when it happened," said Diaz.

The 61-year-old was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center with a punctured lung, multiple broken bones and internal bleeding.

"He's got the mask to breath, but he is in a lot of pain," said Diaz.

The car that hit him took off leaving a path through the lawn. Deputies believe it was an older model Ford pickup truck possibly blue or green.

"Everybody is in shock, right now I can't believe this is really happening, like this is a dream," said Diaz.

Neighbors were shocked to hear the news, but not surprised. "It's not just that they are hitting the cars, they're leaving...The three accidents that I’ve seen, all three people left the scene of the accident," said Alan Lafoy, who lives a few houses down the street.

Diaz's family just wants the driver to take responsibility.  "Stand up for it and say I did it, if it was an accident or whatever, but don't just leave him there like he was a dog, and that's how we feel, he just left him there," said Diaz.

Jose Antonio Diaz is still in Intensive care; his family hopes he will recover quickly, so he can be transferred to a hospital in Miami.