Police in Austin, Tex., are looking for a driver who hit a 10-year-old boy and then drove off, leaving the child to crawl home with an injured leg.
According to NBC affiliate, KXAN, Caden Walsh was walking home from school on Feb. 9 when a vehicle struck him.
“[I was] really scared, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Walsh to KXAN.
Walsh said a dark-coloured vehicle jumped onto the sidewalk, hit him and sent him into a nearby tree.
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During a news conference on Feb. 13, local police said they believe the vehicle may be a red Chevrolet SUV with dark-tinted windows, but that is not confirmed.
“I remember hitting something hard when I jumped out of the way,” said Walsh to KXAN. “Luckily it was just my leg that got hit.”
Injured, Walsh crawled a quarter of a mile home until an unidentified female driver stopped to assist him.
Police are also asking for the Good Samaritan to come forward to help them find the suspect.
It’s not known how the woman assisted Walsh, but officials said the woman “did the right thing” nonetheless.
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Officials also noted that since the beginning of 2018, there have been 49 failure to stop and render aide reports and more than 1,000 reports involving motorists leaving the scene of a crash.
Walsh’s stepfather, Jay Brady, said his stepson was covered in blood when he finally made it home.
“He probably had a ball-pin hammer-sized chunk of his leg missing,” said Brady to KXAN. “He [was] just screaming blood-curdling screams.”
Walsh’s mother was in disbelief on how a driver could just strike a child without seeing if they were okay.
“He could have been dead on the side of the road because somebody just took off, because they didn’t care enough to even go check on him. They just took off, what kind of person does that?” asked Heather Brady to KXAN. “Somebody out there knows something and we just want that person to come forward so we can solve this and we can get justice for our 10-year-old son.”
KXAN reported Walsh was taken to hospital where he received stitches for a non-life threatening injury. He’s currently at home recovering and using crutches to get around.
Officials continue to investigate.
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