Bob Novak Hits Pedestrian, Leaves Scene

An online story today, from Politico, described the events after Bob Novak, "The Prince of Darkness," as he is often called, hit a pedestrian in Washington, D.C. and then left the scene in his corvette. Sure sounds like Robert Novak alright, the asshole!

(The Politico) This story was written by Jonathan Martin and Chris Frates.
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a
pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., on
Wednesday morning.
A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation
in his hand; a WJLA-TV crew and reporter saw Novak as well. The
pedestrian, a 66-year-old man who was not further identified by
authorities, was treated at George Washington University Hospital for
minor injuries, according to D.C. Fire and EMS. Novak was later released
by police and drove away from the scene.
“I didn’t know I hit him. I feel terrible,” a shaken Novak told reporters
from Politico and WJLA as he was returning to his car. "He's not dead,
that's the main thing." Novak said he was a block away from 18th and K
streets Northwest, where the accident occurred, when a bicyclist stopped
him and said, "You hit someone." He said he was cited for failing to yield
the right of way.
The bicyclist was David Bono, a partner at Harkins Cunningham, who was on
his usual bike commute to work at 1700 K St. N.W. when he witnessed the
accident.
As he traveled east on K Street, crossing 18th, Bono said a "black
Corvette convertible with top closed plowed into the guy. The guy is sort
of splayed onto the windshield.”
Bono said that the pedestrian, who was crossing the street on a "Walk"
signal and was in the crosswalk, rolled off the windshield and that Novak
then made a right into the service lane of K Street. “The car is speeding
away. What’s going through my mind is, you just can’t hit a pedestrian and
drive away,” Bono said.
He said he chased Novak half a block down K Street., finally caught up
with him and then put his bike in front of the car to block it and called
911. Traffic immediately backed up, horns blared and commuters finally
went into reverse to allow Novak to pull over.
Bono said that throughout, Novak "keeps trying to get away. He keeps
trying to go.” He said he vaguely recognized the longtime political
reporter and columnist as a Washington celebrity but could not precisely
place him.
Finally, Bono said, Novak put his head out the window of his car and
motioned him over. Bono said he told him that you can't hit a pedestrian
and just drive away. He quoted Novak as responding: “I didn’t see him
there.”
A concierge at 1700 K Street said that she saw a bicyclist yelling and
walked outside to see what the commotion was about.
"This guy hit somebody and he won't stop so I'm going to stay here until
the police come," Aleta Petty quoted Bono as saying, as he stood in K
Street, blocking traffic.
D.C. police confirmed that there was an accident at 18th and K streets NW
at approximately 10 a.m. involving a black Corvette convertible and that
the driver was a white male.
The intersection is in the hub of Washington’s business district and is
filled with pedestrians who work in the law firms and lobby shops that
line the corridor.
Novak, 77, has earned a reputation around the capital as an aggressive
driver, easily identified in his convertible sports car.
In 2001, he cursed at a pedestrian on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue
and 13th streets Northwest for allegedly jaywalking.
“’Learn to read the signs, [bodily orifice]!’ Novak snapped before
speeding away,” according to an item in The Washington Post’s Reliable
Novak explained to the paper: "He was crossing on the red light. I really
hate jaywalkers. I despise them. Since I don't run the country, all I can
do is yell at 'em. The other option is to run 'em over, but as a
compassionate conservative, I would never do that."
Two years later, the same column reported that Novak had gone to a racing
school in Florida.
"I've wanted to be a racecar driver all my life, and anyone who has
watched me drive can tell you that,” Novak said.