California police are offering a large reward in hopes that someone can help them identify the person who hit a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor out walking his dog, Leelah.
The Los Angeles Times reports the incident happened at a marked crosswalk close to Magnolia Boulevard and Wilkinson Avenue in Los Angeles’ Valley Village area, at around 5:35 a.m. on Monday morning. A driver in a white pickup truck with a white camper shell and a cargo carrier on the back, hit Gennady Bolotsky, knocking the elderly man.
The driver paused briefly, then fled the scene.
First responders rushed Bolotsky to the hospital, where he passed away from his injuries. Police said someone crossing the same crosswalk witnessed the entire ordeal but also didn’t stop to render aid.
According to ABC 7, Bolotsky’s granddaughter said he survived the Holocaust and celebrated his 91st birthday earlier in June.
“Monday night after it happened, we went to the scene and not one car stopped. I could’ve been hit,” granddaughter Adriana Bolotsky said. “I saw cars zoom past me and I could have been hit, and I was standing, literally, over his blood.”
Fifteen years ago, Gennady Bolotsky was hit by a car at the same spot. He survived that time with non-life threatening injuries.
Anyone with information is urged to call Valley Traffic Division detectives at 818- 644-8029. To remain anonymous, call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit its site at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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[Feature Photo: Gennady Bolotsky/Handout]
