91-year-old Holocaust survivor killed in hit-and-run at the same spot he met with accident 15 years ago
Police officials in Los Angeles are offering a $50,000 reward for information that will lead to the capture of a driver involved in a hit-and-run incident that led to the death of an elderly Holocaust survivor.
The victim, 91-year-old Gennady Bolotsky of Valley Village, died after he was run over at around 5.35 am on Monday, June 17, near the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Wilkinson Avenue, according to a report by KTLA.
The Los Angeles Police Department said the driver was heading east on Magnolia when the vehicle rammed into Bolotsky, who was walking north on Wilkinson inside a marked crosswalk.
Graphic surveillance video from a camera at the scene shows a white pickup truck plow into the 91-year-old on the crosswalk. The driver can be seen pausing momentarily after the accident before proceeding to run over the elderly man's body and fleeing the scene without rendering any aid.
The footage also captured another man who was crossing the street at the same time as Bolotsky and witnessing the horrific accident but, like the driver, failing to stop and provide aid to an ailing Bolotsky. The Los Angeles Fire Department ultimately responded to the scene and transported the 91-year-old to a hospital, where he died.
Adriana Bolotsky, his granddaughter, said Bolotsky was on his routine morning walk with his dog Leelah, his companion after his wife of more than 50 years passed away, and was close to returning home when he was run over by the driver and left for dead.
She decried the tragedy and revealed that her grandfather was a Holocaust survivor who had just celebrated his 91st birthday earlier this month. She said Bolotsky had escaped Nazi occupation and fled communist Russia to come to the US "to be free". She added that "the void will never be filled" after his death, describing him as "vivacious" and "silly".
According to ABC, this was the second time that Bolotsky had been involved in such an incident at the very same spot, which residents said was very accident-prone. He had been hit by a car 15 years ago at the spot and had survived.
Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic Division are on the lookout for the vehicle involved in the accident, which has been described as a white pickup truck with a white camper shell and a cargo carrier on the back.
Adriana also pleaded for the driver to come forward and accept responsibility for the accident. "I get you're probably scared, but be a human, be a good person and come forward," she was quoted saying.
His son, Michael, however, did not mince his words when it came to how he felt about the suspect. "This parasite of the society shouldn't be in this society, shouldn't be on the streets," he said. "So please help us to put him where he belongs."
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run can contact the police at 818-644-8029 or 818-644-8032.