Search On For Driver Who Allegedly Struck Motorcyclist, Dragged Him: Police

CALVERTON, NY – A father has turned to social media for help to find the driver who allegedly struck his son and dragged him for as much as 200 feet Saturday in Calverton and then fled the scene, leaving the young man for dead.

Riverhead Town Police confirmed Monday that they are investigating the incident, which, according to Shawn Lopez on Facebook, took place around midnight on Saturday when his son Lee, who was riding his motorcycle on Route 25A in Calverton, was struck near the haunted house attraction.

There is a cash reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the driver involved in the hit and run, Lopez said.

Thankfully, he said, his son is recovering at Stony Brook University Hospital.

"Lee is banged up but no broken bones but a concussion and in extreme pain. Please share this to as many people as you can and report to Riverhead police. I don't have much info on the car yet but the bumper was left behind," he wrote, adding that he believed the vehicle involved was a Toyota.

"I just heard that a police officer said Lee was not only hit but dragged 200 feet. I am in a rage of fury within myself. God help this gutless savage! Please keep your ears and eyes open so we can find this animal," he wrote.

An update to Lopez' original post said that an eyewitness saw the incident. "The vehicle that hit Lee was traveling east and hit the back of the bike. The bike and Lee went under the vehicle. This means it was a larger SUV type vehicle that has enough clearance to still drive and accelerate with the bike underneath it. Sadly my son may have been underneath somehow. Because of the huge amount of sparks this witness was distracted but watched it for the first 100 yards as it passed him. Then it went another 100 yards with the bike and Lee still attached. Lee came loose first, then the bike."

And so, Lopez said, the search is on for a small SUV that has damage on the undercarriage. Without the help of people on the scene, his son "would not be with us," Lopez wrote. His son, he wrote, was "left for dead in the center of the road without lights and foggy conditions."

His son, Lopez said, has fractures, facial cuts, sore muscle and a possible tear in his left shoulder. "He is in great spirits, laughing, joking with friends."

But Lopez said he wants justice for the person who left his son for dead.

"We really want this person to pay dearly for their actions. Than we can have closure and forgive," Lopez said.

As his son, who, he said, is "comfortable," recover, Lopez wrote, "Lee is safe and that is all that matters. I'm no longer mad nor angry but content and satisfied that all will be okay but not without the grace of God. So tonight I pray and praise God for thanks and forgiveness. Dear Lord, I love you and need you, please come into my life and bless me, my family and friends and now enemies. I thank you, Lord, for your son Jesus Christ and thank you for protecting our son Lee. I say this in Jesus name, Amen."

Lopez asked that anyone with information contact the Riverhead Police at 631-727-4500.