Family: 13-Year-Old 'Holding On' After Critical Injury In Staten Island Hit-And-Run
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 13-year-old boy remains in critical but stable condition Friday after police said he was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Staten Island.
For loved ones of Qwaddel Lovelace, it's the agony of the unknown as the unconscious teen fights to recover following the crash Thursday evening.
"He's holding on. He still didn't wake up yet," his grandmother, Callia Givens, told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "I just want his mother and him to be alright."
Just after 6 p.m., she says Qwaddel and his younger brother were walking near her apartment building in the West Brighton neighborhood when investigators say a black sedan came barreling down the street.
That's when police said the car hit Qwaddel near the intersection of Henderson Avenue and Broadway.
"It was just speeding and it went through the sidewalk and hit the little boy while he was crossing the street and he flew up there," said witness Myquell Daniel. "He had cuts on his head, his back, his fingers."
The car then crashed into a utility pole, police said.
"He went flying up and then he hit the pole and came back down," the victim's sister, Almonie Williams, said.
The suspect was then seen in surveillance video bolting from the scene.
"He hopped out the car and ran," Daniel said.
Detectives say the driver had been trying to evade police. Officers had been trying to pull him over for not having a front license plate.
While police continue their search, Qwaddel's family is now focusing on his recovery, hoping for good news from doctors.
"I don't got nothing to say except prayers for my grandson and his mother," his grandmother said.
Qwaddel's younger brother who was with him was not hurt. As for the suspect, police have not released his name, but say he has 10 prior arrests and is on probation for robbery.
