DALLAS — Cameras, both hidden and in plain sight, line notorious stretches of southern Dallas to help catch criminals who dump debris and, repeatedly, dispose of animals both alive and dead. Now, the cameras along Dowdy Ferry Road might help catch the person who left a human victim behind.
Mark Coleman, 61, was headed to work at FedEx early Wednesday, Sept. 27, when he veered to avoid an animal crossing Dowdy Ferry Road. He blew out a tire when he briefly ran off the pavement.
When a tow truck arrived to help, Coleman stepped out of his car. A passing white pickup truck hit him, threw him into the air, and left him writhing in pain in the middle of the street.
"All his ligaments and knee cap is crushed," said his brother Anthony Coleman, who spent part of Friday searching the site of the crash for a picture of their mother.
Both brothers wear a medallion, inset with their mom's picture, since she passed two years ago. The force of the collision dislodged the photo and tore Mark Coleman's right leg apart.
"If you have any fear of God in your heart, do the right thing and come forward," Anthony Coleman said of the person in a white, older model, step-side pickup truck who hit his brother and fled the scene.
In addition to the dash camera of the tow truck that captured the incident, Dowdy Ferry Road is lined with multiple surveillance cameras to catch perpetrators who use the area to dump debris and, often, animals.
"These cameras have been a blessing and they've solved quite a few cases," said Jeremy Boss, of the Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission, which operates multiple cameras in the area.
"Watching the video of him just rolling around in agony just breaks my heart," Boss said of the video DFAC cameras captured. "And I'm just glad he's alive. But whoever did this they do need to turn themselves in because you're caught on camera. You're gonna be caught."
"Well, I just have to say, you know who you are, you know it's wrong," said Anthony Coleman.
The Dallas Police Department is investigating the incident.
Mark Coleman, meanwhile, faces multiple surgeries to piece his leg back together. After he heals, he has been told a total knee replacement is likely.
"We really need to catch this guy," Anthony Coleman said. "Because if he will hit him, he'll hit your loved ones too. And next time might not be so lucky that he live."
Anyone who can identify the vehicle and the driver is asked to call the Dallas Police Department.