ORLANDO, Fla. — A Timber Creek High School student is in a coma after a hit-and-run.
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The Florida Highway Patrol found the car but they’re still searching for the driver.
Joshua Sims’ mom is pleading with the driver to turn themselves in.
A gas station on Colonial Drive is where investigators said the driver ditched the car after hitting Sims.
The challenge troopers face is proving who was behind the wheel.
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“The fact that he’s alive, it is a miracle,” said Jennifer Bennet, Sims’ mom.
Sims is fighting for his life. The 16-year-old was hit by a car while riding his skateboard along Colonial Drive on Jan. 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the driver didn’t stop.
Bennett has been by her son’s bedside at the hospital every day.
“He was reacting to my voice and yeah, that was it. That gave me hope,” Bennett said.
The Timber Creek High School junior suffered a traumatic brain injury and has undergone two surgeries.
“Part of his skull’s actually been removed and put in frozen storage until they can be replaced in three to six months,” Bennett said.
The teen has a long road to recovery.
While the driver didn’t stop, witnesses did.
Bennett said she got to meet the man who helped her son. He happened to be an intensive care unit nurse.
“I can’t be more thankful for what he did that night,” Bennett said. “If he wasn’t there, I hate, I hate, I hate to think about what happened.”
Bennett shared a picture of the car she said was involved. The car’s windshield is shattered.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the car belongs to a woman. Witnesses told troopers a man was driving.
Surveillance cameras from the gas station are too grainy to identify the driver.
The agency said the car is being processed for DNA evidence.
Bennett has a message for the driver. “He should turn himself in,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do. I know you didn’t make the right decision that night. But I mean, there’s always a chance to do the next right thing.”
Troopers are asking anyone with information to come forward.
The agency said even the smallest tip could help solve the case.
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