NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Police are searching for the driver of a white Mitsubishi Mirage who struck a 21-year-old Florida man in a Nashville crosswalk and fled the scene. The victim was celebrating his birthday with family when the incident occurred on Church Street.
"Right now, he is in a lot of pain. Very beat up, very bruised up," said Sheena Carach, the victim's mother.
Carach didn't expect her son's 21st birthday to end in the emergency room.
"If you watch the video, he's lucky to be here. He's very lucky to have lived," she said.
Carach witnessed the horrifying moment, running to her son Zach after watching him fly into the air when the car hit him on Church Street and didn't stop.
"He looked, he looked. He looked again. He was walking in the marked crosswalk with the light flashing that said state law to stop for pedestrians and yield for pedestrians. The car just never stopped. It never slowed down," Carach said.
"He went feet over head and went completely on his shoulder," she added.
"I just started praying and asking God not to take him," Carach said. "In the moment, it was very traumatic, and please don't take my child. Take me, you can have me, but don't take my baby."
As a former police officer herself, Carach expressed disappointment that license plate readers couldn't be used to help her son's case.
"A simple traffic camera, a simple road camera. This person would be behind bars, and I wouldn't be here with my son going, 'We will find a way, we will find a way,'" she said. "Because who's gonna be the next person, who's going to be the next child laying in the middle of an intersection bleeding out, hoping they live?"
The family will remain in Nashville for the days ahead as they wait for surgeries and an arrest.
"You drove away and left my child in the road like a piece of garbage, and that's not ok," Carach said. "Please do the right thing. Please turn yourself in."
But Carach is not waiting for help to protect her son.
"I'm just a mama who loves her kids, and I will fight for them," she said.
Anyone with information about this hit-and-run on Church Street is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
Here's the link to help the family.
This story was reported by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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