Cedarhurst hit-run driver who hit pals sought

If only they had accepted a ride instead of walking home that night. If only they had taken a different route.

If only.

Tom Jordan is haunted by the brutal hit-and-run accident that befell him and his friend David Gerges as they walked to Gerges' home in Cedarhurst around 3 a.m. on New Year's Day, after leaving a house party in nearby Inwood.

The host's mom had offered them a ride, "and we said, 'We got it. We're going to walk,' " Jordan recalled in an interview Friday.

"You live with these regrets."

To avoid snow-covered sidewalks, the two 21-year-olds walked east on West Broadway's right shoulder, side by side.

"Dave's on the left," Jordan said. He paused. "That's why he's in the hospital."

Deep in conversation about life and girls, the friends never heard the car coming, Jordan said.

A late-1990s gold Jeep Cherokee came up behind them on West Broadway near the intersection of Leroy Avenue in Cedarhurst and struck the two, Nassau police said.

Gerges was thrown by the impact across the intersection. Jordan was sideswiped and knocked to the ground.

The car disappeared without ever stopping, Jordan said.

Dazed from the impact, Jordan looked around for Gerges. "I saw his legs sticking out of the snow, and I ran over to him right away," Jordan said. "He didn't look good. His face was all bloodied . . . he wasn't breathing right."

Jordan, of Inwood, who escaped with minor injuries, thought his friend was dead. "I'm shoving him, saying 'Dave, Dave, Dave.' No response."

Gerges was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was admitted into the intensive care unit with a broken pelvis and head trauma. He was in a medically induced coma Friday.

His father, George Gerges, paced outside of his son's hospital room Friday. "After you hit someone, you leave them bleeding in the street? It's not fair," the father said. "You wouldn't do that to a dog."

Investigators determined the type of car that hit the two men, through pieces of the vehicle that were left at the scene. The Jeep lost its passenger-side headlight and pieces of the front bumper, and there is probably "significant damage" to the grill, police said.

Partial serial numbers found inside the recovered car parts may ultimately lead to the vehicle, said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest. Callers to the hotline at 800-244-TIPS may remain anonymous.

Jordan's mother, Robin Jordan, pointed out that the friends were partying responsibly by not driving home after the party. "They did the right thing. They were walking back. You teach them to do the right thing, and then this happens," she said.

A college sophomore, Gerges had recently transferred to SUNY Oswego upstate to study sociology after studying at Nassau Community College.

He was a popular wrestler at Lawrence High School, and so many friends turned up at the hospital to visit him that his mother likened him to a rock star, said his sister, Jessica Gerges.

Anticipating months of rehabilitation and mounting medical bills, Gerges' family and friends are holding a fundraiser Jan. 14 at the Five Towns Community Center, said Jordan, a math senior at Molloy College in Rockville Centre.

In the days since the hit-and-run, Jordan and his friends have kept an eye out for vehicles that match the police description.

"I want the driver to be found," he said. "I don't want them to be out there driving again."