Riverhead Hit-And-Run Victim Becomes a Dad

Exactly one month to the day that Riverhead hit-and-run victim Aaron Hartmann was critically injured, he became a father for the first time.

Hartmann's daughter Natalie born on June 12, one month after he was struck down in the Mother's Day incident.

"He was able to celebrate his first Father's Day," Hartmann's mother, Linda Hartmann, said. 

The baby weighed 9 lbs., five oz. when she was born, Hartmann said.

But despite the joyful news, Hartmann said her son's recovery has not been easy.

"He's frustrated," Hartmann said. Unable to walk and with his eyesight limited, she said. "He's aggravated that he is not able to work and take care of his child."

At 12:51 a.m. on Mother's Day, Hartmann, 23, was walking home on County Road 105 when he was struck by a vehicle which left the scene, police said. He suffered serious physical injuries and was transported from Peconic Bay Medical Center to Stony Brook Hospital. 

Detectives were able to identify the vehicle involved as a 2000 Chevy Impala. The woman charged with fleeing from the scene of of an accident with physical injury, a felony, Calverton resident Jacqueline Celentano, 21, was released on a $30,000 bond.

Hartmann sustained injuries including broken bones in his leg, a contusion on his forehead, and fractures in his face; he had a shunt in his skull to relieve pressure from internal bleeding in his brain.

Hartmann said she spent Mother's Day by her son's side. The day was marked by tragedy: 19 years earlier, on the same day, her sister died. 

Her son's hospitalization was his third, Hartmann said; he was alo injured in the past when his jaw was broken in three places.

Hartmann, his mom said, had been excited about his future, ready to start a new landscaping job on Wednesday and eagerly awaiting, with his girlfriend Emily, the birth of their baby girl.

He was also involved with the Salvation Army and American Legion, she said.

"Now, he's going to have to learn to walk again." 

Hartmann, who said she has not worked herself since February when she lost her job, is struggling with mounting medical bills and to care for her son, who is still wheelchair bound.

A fundraiser was held for Hartmann at the Athens Grill before it burned in a tragic fire.

Her son, Hartmann said, may need to seek disability due to the fact that he has lost much of his peripheral vision.

Thankful that her son's leg was saved, Hartmann said there are still challenges ahead as he learns to walk. In the meantime, Hartmann helps her son, caring for him and helping him navigate the wheelchair.

"Watching him struggle, not being able to do anything, is physically and mentally exhausting," she said.