HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A driver is sharing his side of the story after he was arrested for allegedly striking an 8-year-old girl and leaving the scene in Hallandale Beach.
7News cameras on Wednesday afternoon captured 37-year-old Berdry Lubin after he bonded out of the Broward County Jail.
Speaking exclusively to 7News after he was released, Lubin said the incident was an accident and that he did not mean to hit the young girl.
“I mean, I’m sorry. I hope that she’s doing well,” he said. “It was just an accident, and I just panicked, that’s all. I’m not no evil person, I’m not no bad person.”
Lubin said he was driving with his son to school when the girl ran in front of his vehicle.
“She just ran out in front of me as I was talking to my son; she just ran out,” he said. “By the time I look back, she was already there.”
The incident happened Monday morning near 1000 SW 3rd St. in Hallandale Beach.
The man explained to 7News why he left the scene before police could arrive.
“I just panicked ’cause all the cars behind me were just honking the horn, and I just, I just panicked, but I’m not that type of person. I got kids of my own,” said Lubin.
Surveillance video from a nearby home showed the young girl flying through the air after she was hit by the car. Miraculously, she only suffered a broken arm and is OK.
The video shows Lubin got out of the car to check on Nahriya, and even picked her up, but then he left the scene before officers arrived.
“Picked up, lift up, put on the sidewalk, make sure I checked on her, made sure everything was OK with her,” said Lubin. “I’m not an animal. I’m not just going to leave a child right there so I made sure she was OK before I left.”
Lubin was arrested a few blocks away after leaving the scene.
“If I could reach out to the parents and let the parents know that I didn’t mean to just pull off like that, just panicked. But besides that, I just pray that she’s OK,” said Lubin.
The victim, Nahriya, spoke to 7News on Tuesday and said she was walking to school and was eating a snack and wanted to throw her trash away, which is why she crossed the street.
“I was crossing the street to throw away trash, he didn’t see me and I didn’t see him,” said Nahriya. “I was so close to the trash can.”
The 8-year-old’s story may be a reminder for drivers on what could happen in an instant.
Lubin was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, being a habitual traffic offender, and not having insurance or registration.
Nahriya’s family has created a GoFundMe page. To donate, click here.
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