15-Year-Old Boy Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A teenager was struck Tuesday morning by a hit-and-run driver in Queens.
Jeremy Hutson, 15, was hit by a silver BMW SUV while crossing 175th Street and Linden Boulevard, authorities said.
Witnesses told CBS2's Reena Roy the SUV came speeding down Linden Boulevard and turned onto 175th Street, going the wrong way down the one-way road, then hitting the teen and a parked car.
"He was in the street, crossing to go play basketball with his friends, and the car came up Linden Boulevard and made the turn and hit him as he was crossing the street," his father, Keith Hutson, told Roy. "I'm just thankful to God, first of all, that he's OK, but just traumatized at what could have been the outcome, considering the speed at which the car was going."
"I heard a screech and I heard a big yell, like an 'Ah!' and I came running downstairs. I came to look and I saw the boy sitting on the grass, he had some cuts on his arm," witness Nathaniel Wright said.
"That's the hard part, you know, just watching him there. He had scratches and bruises, bleeding," said witness Anneth Prince.
As Hutson struggled on the ground, neighbors tried to stop the driver, who appeared to be in his teens, as well as others in the car, but they were able to run off.
"They made the turn and they hit the boy, he went up in the air. Next thing you know, hopped out. My neighbor came to try to wrestle him, but they ran into the backyard," Wright said. "I looked in my backyard, I looked in my shed, a couple other neighbors look around, but we didn't see them."
"It was chaotic to see what exactly just occurred. We see a guy on the floor, we see the car here, and somebody running in the backyard," said witness Annette Polk.
Police have been searching for them since, with choppers in the air and cruisers scouring the streets.
Hutson was taken to Jamaica Hospital with minor injuries.
