Surveillance video captures man struck in Oakland Park hit-and-run

Driver ran through stop sign, victim says

OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – Surveillance video captured the moment a car went speeding through an intersection, mowing down a 78-year-old man and leaving him in the street. 

"He must have been speeding, because before I knew it, I was hit," the victim, Eddie van Gool, said.

Van Gool said he knows he is incredibly lucky to be alive as he is left with gashes all over his body.

"I'm very, very sore, you know -- my back, my tailbone, my leg, my arm, neck, head," van Gool said.

Now, using a walker, van Gool said he remembers very little from the crash around 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. He said he only recalls seeing the car approaching from a distance as he crossed Northeast 34th Court at 10th Avenue, headed to a neighbors house.

"I had plenty of time to go to the other side of the street, but I had no idea the guy was going fast, and was going to go through the stop sign," van Gool said,

Karl van Gool, Eddie van Gool's son, said it was their own surveillance cameras that caught the impact that left pieces of the car behind.

"My sister found the headlight right here, and we believe it's from the right front headlight to a Honda," Karl van Gool said.

Eddie van Gool said he's grateful he's here and hopes the driver is found. 

"Once you do something like that, I'm afraid that it might become a habit," Eddie van Gool said. "In the future, if there's a next time, he might kill somebody."