Grieving Father Turns To Using Billboard To Find Driver Who Killed His Son
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A New Jersey family is taking a different approach to get justice and find the hit and run driver who killed a young father.
They're using an electronic billboard advertising a big reward, reports CBS2's Meg Baker.
A billboard on Route 1 reads: "$10,000 Reward - Pedestrian killed August 13, 2018."
The picture next to the text is of John Kukuch Jr. and his 9-year-old son John Dominick.
It's hard for his father John Sr. to talk about describing his son.
"Great smile, always joking, happy," he said. "Great father with his son every weekend except that weekend, go figure."
The 31-year-old father was killed by a hit and run driver on Route 1 South near Cloverleaf Park and Route 35 just after midnight last summer in Woodbridge.
Kukuch says his son was doing the responsible thing, walking home after a night out drinking with friends. Police say he was walking up the shoulder along the guardrail.
"The car never stopped, it hit him kept on going," said John Sr. "Could have saved his life if stopped, who knows? We don't know."
A memorial sits at the site with a sign reading "My daddy was killed here, please help us find the driver."
The entire family was supposed to go to the Yankees game the next weekend.
"Once in a blue, he will bring up a memory. I remember when me and dad did this, me and dad did that. Opening day of baseball this year, a good month ago, we were walking on the field the first time, a little league field, and he goes 'I miss this. Me and dad did this.'"
The only description of the car is that it's a dark colored SUV - no make or model. The family hopes someone driving by the billboard can give them more information.
"I want to say to that driver, please come forward, bring our family closure, answer some questions. We have a lot of questions about how this happened, why it happened."
John Sr. says he has happily stepped into his son's shoes, taking his grandson every weekend and attending every sports practice. He won't let John Jr.'s memory fade.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to fund a reward for information.
