Family call on driver to '˜do the decent thing'

Gerard Gillespie sustained a fractured hip in the incident which occurred near the Newlyn Terrace area at around 1:45pm on August 19.

Mr Gillespie, who is 69 years old, remains in hospital following the accident and is likely to be there for some time.

His brother Thomas said Gerard had to undergo surgery and had pins and plates inserted into his hip as a result of the injury he sustained.

“At the minute the hospital staff have him sitting out on a chair and he has managed to take two steps. He will have to have physio to get him back on his feet properly,” he said.

“There is no good time to get an injury like this, but particularly at his age it makes recovery more difficult and he lives on his own.”

Thomas said his brother was walking along the Spencer Road and was crossing the road when a car began to reverse. He attempted to alert the driver to his presence prior to being hit by the car.

“My brother would be very cautious he would never just dive out on the road while a car was moving,” he said.

‘I believe the driver would have heard about the accident and I would ask them to do the decent thing and come forward.”

Thomas has also asked for witnesses to the accident to contact the police.

The PSNI has appealed for assistance in tracing the driver of the car.

Constable Mary Doherty said: “We are appealing for witnesses to the collision to get in touch as soon as possible to assist the investigation.

“In particular, we are appealing for information about the vehicle in question that is described as being a large black coloured vehicle.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact officers at Strand Road Police Station on 101 quoting reference number 756 of 19/08/16.”