Records: Driver charged in Elmont hit-and-run noticed victim's 'leg was off'

A tow-truck driver charged in connection with an Elmont hit-and-run that severed a pedestrian’s leg told cops he got out and noticed the man’s "leg was off," before dropping a vehicle at a body shop, according to court records.

Ibrahim Elfiqi, 20, of Astoria, Queens, faces a charge of leaving the scene of an auto accident with serious injury after the crash just before 9 p.m. Sunday, authorities said. The victim, 65, whose name was not released, had been attempting to cross Linden Boulevard at 237th Street when the eastbound white 2015 Hino flatbed tow truck hit him, Nassau County police said.

According to a two-page written statement in court documents, Elfiqi told police that he hit the man.

"As I just went over the Cross Island Parkway, I struck a pedestrian in the road," Elfiqi wrote, according to the documents. "I stopped and got out of the truck. I saw that his leg was off."

Elfiqi said he was on his way to a Bellmore body shop to drop off a Honda Odyssey, the documents state, called 911, went to that shop — and was pulled over by Nassau police while on his way to Quality Automotive, his auto body shop in the Springfield Gardens section of Queens.

Elfiqi was driving without a valid New York State driver’s license, according to court documents.

The victim’s left leg was severed below the knee and Fifth Precinct officers rendered "lifesaving aid" by applying tourniquets to control the bleeding, police said. The man also sustained a separated right shoulder and a head injury, according to charging documents.

He was transported to a hospital where he was in critical but stable condition Monday, according to police.

Elfiqi pleaded not guilty Monday at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead and was released on his own recognizance with an ankle monitor. He is scheduled to return to court Wednesday, according to court records.

Andrea Natalie, Elfiqi’s defense attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

With Robert Brodsky, Cecilia Dowd and Keldy Ortiz

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”