Dramatic US hit-and-run video released

Police in New York have released dramatic CCTV footage of a driver mowing down a group of teenagers in a hit-and-run incident…

Police in New York have released dramatic CCTV footage of a driver mowing down a group of teenagers in a hit-and-run incident.

The incident was filmed at about 3am last Thursday morning in Buffalo in upstate New York.

The video shows the three teenagers trying to run out of the car's path as it veers towards them, driving onto the footpath.

It hits one of the boys head on and sends him hurtling over the windshield and out of camera shot.

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He has been identified as 18-year-old Victor Jerez, who is being treated for serious injuries at a Buffalo hospital.

The other two teens escaped uninjured.

Police released the footage in the aftermath of a series of hit-and-run incidents in the town.

"The footage is extremely graphic," Mayor Byron Brown said at a news conference. He said he was releasing the video in response to a spate of hit-and-run incidents in the region, including one in the suburban town of Lancaster that killed a 14-year-old boy on his bicycle.

"The purpose for showing this video footage is to dramatise how dangerous hit and run accidents are," the mayor said.

A 19-year-old student was arrested within minutes of the Buffalo crash. He has been charged with assault, reckless driving and fleeing from a police officer.