Hudson Valley dad claims police are too ‘short-staffed’ to investigate hit-and-run that injured his daughter

A Cortlandt Manor father refuses to let the driver who seriously injured his 24-year-old daughter get away with a crime, even though he says the police have given up.

Blaise Gomez

Sep 6, 2022, 10:16 PM

Updated 824 days ago

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A Cortlandt Manor father refuses to let the driver who seriously injured his 24-year-old daughter get away with a crime, even though he says the police have given up. 
“I was told by one officer, ‘We’ve done all we can do, that’s it. We’re done with it,'” said Robert Curley. 
His daughter, who lives in Fishkill, suffered a broken leg that required surgery and a concussion July 9 after she was struck walking across Front Street in the city of Newburgh. 
“Her left tibia was broken an inch below her knee, she had a big gash on her head and lots of scrapes and bruises,” said Curley. 
Curley gave News 12 a photo of his daughter in the hospital and a copy of the police report. 
It says the driver is seen on restaurant surveillance video captured by Billy Joe's Ribworks taking off after traveling through a crowd of pedestrians at night at an “unsafe speed” and “flipping” the victim into the air. 
“The effort it would take to resolve this with an arrest is so minimal that their excuses as far as staffing and more important things is kind of pathetic,” said Curley. 
The police report states two passengers were seen on camera being dropped off feet away from the crash. 
“They interviewed the two passengers, but I guess technically witnessing a crime and not talking about it is not a crime, so they let them go,” said Curley. 
The police report indicates the passengers were “unable to provide any driver information or vehicle information.” 
The car’s license plate couldn’t be made out because of the glare of the headlights. 
Police have the vehicle's side view mirror that broke off when it hit the victim. 
The car is described as a late-model, silver or gray Nissan Altima  
Curley says the vehicle also had major damage after hitting his daughter – including a broken windshield. 
He’s asking anyone who knows what happened, saw the damaged car or repaired it to contact police with information to help catch whoever did this and prevent it from happening again.  
“It’s pathetic. Pathetic is the word I’d use," he says.
News 12 reached out to the City of Newburgh Police Department for comment on the staffing allegations and information on the investigation but hasn’t heard back.