Bloomfield News Cameraman Loses Legs In Hit-And-Run: Fundraising Campaign Launched

Bloomfield, NJ - The Essex County community is coming together in support of a former news cameraman and victim of a hit-and-run.

An online fundraising campaign and poker tournament have been established for Robert Hiner, a Bloomfield resident and longtime New Jersey news cameraman who was run over by a dump truck while walking near Municipal Plaza and Franklin Street in Bloomfield in January of 2015.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the motorist, Jose Cruz, 59, of Newark, was driving an unregistered commercial dump truck with no insurance.

Cruz pleaded guilty to his role in the accident on June 18, admitting that he knowingly struck Hiner and fled the scene, prosecutors stated.

• See related article: Newark Man Jailed: Hit and Run Left Bloomfield News Cameraman With Both Legs Amputated

According to an online campaign, the accident left Hiner with a crushed pelvis and internal injuries. After spending the next three weeks in a coma, Hiner endured several surgeries and eventually had both legs amputated.

“[Hiner] spent four and a half months in a Trauma Center, and another four and a half months working hard to rehab his body... his hospital and rehab bills are staggering ...the driver that struck him didn’t have any insurance… Bobby needs help paying his medical bills,” the online campaign states.

“Bobby will need to purchase a powered wheel chair, a handicapped accessible vehicle, and his house will need extensive modifications to make it liveable for him,” according to the online campaign.

See the full campaign here.

POKER FUNDRAISER

Hiner’s supporters will host a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament fundraiser to benefit the former cameraman at Montclair Commonwealth Club, 26 Northview Avenue, Upper Montclair, on Saturday, Jan. 9.

See details about the event here.

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