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Fundraiser Started for Victim of Double Hit-and-Run as Family Seeks Answers

By Camille Bautista | November 17, 2015 8:37am
 Sean Benz, 27, was struck by two cars in a hit-and-run on Atlantic and Bedford avenues on Oct. 21, according to police and family members. Coworkers and friends are raising money for his medical expenses as he remains in the ICU at Kings County Hospital.
Sean Benz, 27, was struck by two cars in a hit-and-run on Atlantic and Bedford avenues on Oct. 21, according to police and family members. Coworkers and friends are raising money for his medical expenses as he remains in the ICU at Kings County Hospital.
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Facebook/Sean Benz

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Coworkers of a Brooklyn man left clinging to life after a double hit-and-run accident launched an online fundraiser to help support his family and medical expenses.

Sean Benz, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was riding his bike along Bedford Avenue just before 2 a.m. on Oct. 21 when he was struck by a white SUV and a white four-door sedan headed west on Atlantic Avenue, police said.

Neither car stopped, leaving the 27-year-old with 15 broken ribs and several serious injuries, according to police and his father, Bill Benz.

Sean remains on a ventilator in Kings County Hospital’s intensive care unit as of Monday as his mother and father seek justice for him, Bill said.

 Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the vehicles and drivers who fled the scene of a crash that left bicyclist Sean Benz in critical condition.
Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the vehicles and drivers who fled the scene of a crash that left bicyclist Sean Benz in critical condition.
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DCPI

“It’s been very difficult,” he said, explaining that he and his wife, Donna, have relocated from their home in Bucks County, Pa., to a Brooklyn apartment to be closer to Sean.

“We’re basically just taking this time, one hour at a time, one day at a time.”

To assist the family with mounting medical bills, Sean’s coworkers at advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day launched a GoFundMe page last week and collected more than $6,000 in 24 hours, according to organizer and fellow employee Anastasia Garcia.

TBWA workers sought to give back to Sean in any way they could and started the #OneOfUs campaign to support his loved ones.

“Sean is a really close friend and just a likeable guy around the office,” Garcia said.  

“Everyone knew Sean in some way. He’s part of the advertising community, he rides his bike regularly just as many of us do, he’s a Brooklyn resident. He’s part of all these different groups, which is how we came up with ‘One of Us.’”

The project manager was the life of any party and a “likeable, creative guy,” she added.

The agency is matching donations to support his family, with some employees vowing to dye their beards and shave “Benz” into their hair once specific fundraising goals are met.  

More than $23,000 had poured into the campaign as of Monday afternoon.

Once donations reach $30,000, Sean’s boss and coworker will each get a pineapple tattoo in his honor, Garcia said.

The meaning behind the same tattoo on Sean’s arm was always a mystery, Bill said, though the father of three came up with a possible explanation.  

“Pineapples are real tough and thorny on the outside, but really sweet on the inside,” he said. “That’s Sean.”

“It’s amazing all the support his employers are putting behind this.”

As TBWA co-workers and friends continue to raise funds, the Benzes are seeking the public’s help in identifying the drivers who struck their son.

No arrests have been made in the October incident, according to police.

In addition to more than a dozen broken ribs, the crash left Sean with a fractured arm and collar bone, a dislocated hip and a laceration across his skull that required 17 staples, his father said.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Pennsylvania native also went into kidney failure and required dialysis. While unable to talk, he is responsive.

“Thank goodness his kidneys came back over the weekend,” his father said Monday. “We’re hoping his lungs come back too.”

Bill described his son as athletic, determined and charismatic who had “a personality to match his size.”

The Benz family is working with police to gather information on the hit-and-run and there is a $2,500 reward from the NYPD for information on the incident, Bill said.  

The husband and wife are putting up an additional $10,000 for any details leading to the arrest and indictment of individuals responsible for the crash, he said, adding that the vehicles in question are likely a white Lincoln MKX and a white Nissan Maxima.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.