An 8-year-old boy was left with severe skin injuries and bruising after being struck by a vehicle and then abandoned in the roadway Friday evening in Fort Worth, Texas, authorities and the boy’s family said.
Liam Park was riding his bike with friends outside his family's apartment building just before 8 p.m. when a black SUV hit him and then sped away, according to family members and a GoFundMe page set up to help the family. No arrests have been reported and the driver has not been publicly identified. Police said the case is being investigated by the Traffic Investigation Unit.
Liam’s mother, Baylea Christiansen, said she found her son “covered in blood from his face to his arm” and screaming. The boy told CBS News he initially felt dizzy and had trouble seeing after the impact, saying, “It just kind of hit me. I felt like I was going to pass out, because my eye, vision, I started to not be able to see good.”
Friends who witnessed the crash ran to the apartment to tell Christiansen. According to the family’s account and the fundraiser description, witnesses said the driver got out of the vehicle, looked at Liam lying in the street, then got back into the SUV and drove away. The GoFundMe page said witnesses told them the driver “not only hit him but actually drove over him head-on.” The family believes Liam’s bicycle, which became lodged between him and the vehicle, helped prevent more serious harm.
Liam was taken to a hospital and later released. Doctors told the family he did not have broken bones but sustained significant skin injuries to his arms and face and widespread bruising, Christiansen said. She and Liam’s father, Kyle Park, wrote on the fundraiser that their son has been left “injured, shaken, and deeply traumatized by this horrific event,” and that he has trouble sleeping, cries in his sleep and has reduced his food intake because of pain.
Christiansen urged authorities to find the driver. “I hope that you're found, and I hope that you're going to pay for that,” she wrote. “For all you know, my son could be dead right now.” The family posted the GoFundMe to raise money for legal representation, court and investigation fees, and to help relocate the family away from the apartment complex; as of Tuesday morning the fundraiser had raised more than $2,800.
The Fort Worth Police Department confirmed the Traffic Investigation Unit was handling the incident. The Daily Mail reported it had contacted the department for comment. The investigation remains active as officers seek to identify and locate the driver and vehicle involved.
Hit-and-run investigations in the United States often involve collecting witness statements, reviewing nearby surveillance footage and searching for vehicle damage consistent with the reported collision. Authorities did not provide further details on any physical description of the driver or the SUV involved in this case.
The family and their supporters said they are seeking justice for Liam and called for increased accountability for hit-and-run drivers. The investigation by Fort Worth police is ongoing.