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Victim Of Alleged NYC Hit-And-Run: Favoritism Shown For Cop's Son

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Did the son of a New York City detective get special treatment after allegedly hitting a pedestrian and driving off?

The victim told CBS 2's John Slattery that he thinks the cop's son got treated with kid gloves by the NYPD.

Felipe Diaz spent ten days hospitalized with a broken leg, and now gets around on a walker. He said the driver who hit him got a slap on the wrist because he's the son of a detective.

"'I'm related to a higher-up, I can get away with it, so let me keep going,'" Diaz said.

The 41-year-old Diaz, who works at Radio City Music Hall as an usher, said it was a hit and run. He said he was struck by a car that ran a red light at 107th Street and Broadway on April 10.

"I was in the crosswalk, had the light, and this guy was speeding and didn't do anything to avoid hitting me," Diaz said.

Diaz said witnesses who got the license plate saw the car stop momentarily.

"That's what I heard," Diaz said. "He stopped, looked, and got back in the car and left."

Diaz's lawyer said the driver was 19-year-old Michael Muniz, the son of police Internal Affairs Detective Alice Muniz, to whom the car was registered.

Diaz said it took 11 days for the driver to show up at the stationhouse, and all he got was a desk appearance ticket.

"Once I was told that is not normal procedure, I was troubled," Diaz said.

Diaz said he believes there was preferential treatment given for the son of a detective. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said the department was looking into the allegation.

"Any allegation is troubling. You have to wait for the investigation to go forward and be concluded," Commissioner Kelly said.

The case will pose a question for a police department that's already facing an investigation into whether police officers' family members routinely have tickets fixed.

Diaz's lawyer said Muniz should have been charged with leaving the scene of an accident. The Manhattan district attorney is also investigating the matter.

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