Needham hit-and-run victim hoping driver will come forward

The driver who hit a man on Route 128 Friday and took off still has not come forward.

On Route 128 South Friday night, Yanni Giannarikas and his brother were driving home after finishing a roofing job in Waltham.

“I saw the temperature gauge and I said to my brother, pull over, dude, it's overheating, let's check it out,” said Giannarikas.

Yanni's brother maneuvered the pickup into the breakdown lane near Exit 19 in Needham and both men got out of the vehicle.

“I walked past my mirror on the driver's side and all of a sudden, boom. And I fell and the pain was so bad and I was screaming,” said Giannarikas.

Yanni had just been hit in the back by the mirror of a vehicle going at full highway speed.

“I thought... I'm not going to walk out of this. And by God's prayer and his guidance watching over me, I have a strong guardian angel. My mom said, I don't know how you are here today,” said Giannarikas.

Yanni may be here, but the driver who hit him is nowhere to be found.

After initially pulling over further up the road, that driver sped off.

"His mirror broke when it hit me in the back. So, my brother gave that to the State Police," said Giannarikas.
Yanni has a lot to be grateful for.

“Thank God I'm OK. You know, my back's not broken. I'm alive and here today, you know,” said Giannarikas.

But his pain is so great, he's having trouble walking and that means he cannot report Monday for his job as a landscaper.

“I'm a renter in Boston and to pay $2,000 worth of rent and not be able to work….” Said Giannarikas.

But even more important to Yanni is finding the driver who laid him up.

“I just want to you know, look him in the face and ask him why he didn't stop,” said Giannarikas.

Yanni's family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page. If you would like to donate, click here.

If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call Massachusetts State Police.

Cox Media Group