Cold Spring Harbor family petitions for safety changes after hit-and-run leaves dog seriously injured

On Valentine's Day, Dan Batista says his dog was hit by a car on Turkey Lane in Cold Spring Harbor. The dog, named Princess Leia, is in serious condition.

News 12 Staff

Feb 19, 2021, 11:00 PM

Updated 1,253 days ago

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A Suffolk family has started a petition for stop signs and speed bumps in their neighborhood after they say their dog was hurt in a hit-and-run this week.
On Valentine's Day, Dan Batista says his dog was hit by a car on Turkey Lane in Cold Spring Harbor after she got out of her fenced in yard. The dog, named Princess Leia, is in serious condition and the driver took off.
But now, neighbors say enough is enough and something must be done to slow drivers down on the road.
"This is a 30 mile an hour speed limit, this is a school zone. We have families we have so many children who play on the street," says Batista. "I grew up on the street, it wouldn't have been unheard of for me to be outside at 6:50 walking to a friend's house. We have to hold people accountable. We need stop signs, we need to slow the flow of traffic on Turkey Lane."
Neighbors with Ring cameras say the footage shows it was a newer model black sedan, but not much other information is known.
"The neighbor's Ring camera shows the car driving by hitting her you can hear the impact. You can hear her crying and the driver just continues to drive," says Batista.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for anyone with information on the driver involved. Anyone with information is asked to reach out to Batista via his email at dbatista86@gmail.com.
Batista says their dog's future is uncertain at this point -- they aren't sure if she will be able to walk.
Other neighbors say this is not the first time a pet has been hit by a car. They also say they've reached out to the town in the past to do something about speeding drivers.
Turkey Lane meets Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, and according to those News 12 spoke with, it has become a cut- through and many of the drivers don't obey the 30 mph speed limit.
The Town of Huntington says the Traffic Safety Division will conduct a new traffic study to address the speeding issue.


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