Toddler recovering
after hit-and-run accident

The Holmesburg toddler struck by a sport-utility vehicle in front of his house on Oct. 22 is recovering from critical injuries while Philadelphia police continue to search for the hit-and-run driver.
John Jacob Dooley Jr., 3, was listed in fair condition at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children on Monday, a week after he nearly lost his life on a local residential street.
The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on the 4200 block of Decatur St., just east of Frankford Avenue, police said. John reportedly was helping his grandfather rake leaves in front of the boy’s home when he heard a neighbor calling and darted into the street.
An eastbound Chevy Blazer then struck the boy, who witnesses said was thrust several dozen feet and knocked unconscious from the impact. The motorist exited his vehicle, observed the boy, then got back behind the wheel and fled.
John suffered multiple injuries, including deep abrasions of the face and arm, broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and bruised lungs.
Police described the suspect as a white man in his mid-30s, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 250 pounds. He was clean-shaven and wearing a dark T-shirt and jeans. The Blazer is a 1980s or early ’90s model with a black and dark gray paint job. At least one of the vehicle’s headlights shattered in the collision with the boy.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 215-685-3180. ••