A student driver accused of hitting a boy and leaving him all alone has finally been arrested, weeks after the incident in Austin, Texas.
The 10-year-old victim, Caden Walsh, said a car went onto the sidewalk he was walking on and crashed into him at around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 9.
“He’s down at the bottom of the stairs, his leg is just covered in blood,” the boy’s stepfather, Jay Brady, told the newspaper. “He probably has a ball-peen hammer sized chunk of his leg missing, he’s just screaming blood-curdling screams.”
According to KXAN, the boy crawled home about 400 yards and had to be treated at the hospital for his leg.
Police spent weeks searching for the driver until they found evidence that pointed to Nicole Helen Miller, 17, the driver of a red Jeep.
Authorities interviewed Miller at her Westwood High School. She first denied any knowledge of the incident before later admitting to hitting something that she thought was a small dog or roadkill.
“During questioning, Miller stated that she saw something tan moving around along the side of the road as she drove away but never returned to confirm what it was,” an affidavit obtained by KXAN stated.
She also told officers that she was “very scared” after the incident and called her dad.
According to the affidavit, Miller wanted to apologize to Walsh and his family.
She was charged with third-degree felony, failure to stop and render aid, was booked into the Williamson County Jail on March 27 and released on a $10,000 bond the next day.
“I’m relieved. It gives us some kind of closure and knowing that person--she’s gonna have to pay for what she’s done,” Heather Brady, Walsh’s mother told KXAN.
The mother said her son’s story serves as a lesson for other drivers.
“Make sure you stop. If you think you hit someone or something, stop, check on that person, don’t just leave,“ Brady told KXAN. ”This would have been a different story for her if she’d have stopped. There’s no reason not to stop.”
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