LIBERTY, Mo. — A Liberty teenager is fighting for his life after a serious hit-and-run crash.
Steven Sciortino said his 18-year-old nephew doesn’t have a car, so he walks pretty much wherever he goes. Sunday morning, he was just trying to cross the road near 152 Highway and North Church Road, when a truck slammed into him and took off.
Thousands of cars pass through the busy intersection every single day. And it’s at that crossing where Sciortino said his nephew nearly died.
“I don’t have any answers. I wish I did. I wish I knew who did it, and we could bring them to justice,” Sciortino said.
A couple shopping at the nearby Walmart was loading their bags and heard the crash around 5 a.m. Sunday and went to check things out. They saw a black truck speeding away. The couple told Kansas City police it looked like a Ford pickup with after-market wheels and a loud exhaust.
They spotted the truck ramping on top of a concrete median as it drove away, then found the 18-year-old lifeless in the street. The couple moved their vehicle to prevent other cars from hitting the teen again until the ambulance arrived.
“I can’t imagine running somebody over and leaving them for dead in the middle of the road. I couldn’t imagine that at all,” Sciortino said.
Sciortino doesn’t want to identify his nephew publicly, but he told FOX4 the teen has several broken vertebrae and a hole in his back. His heel was crushed and his head badly injured.
The 18-year-old has been unconscious, in a coma, since the crash happened.
“My brother, he’s pretty distraught right now, you know. The rest of the family is as well,” Sciortino said.
Police estimate the teen’s body may have been thrown nearly a football field’s length away. His clothes were ripped apart, and a boot was tossed almost 200 feet from the impact.
His family is now desperate for answers, hoping the person responsible will be caught.
“My nephew’s life was almost ended. It’s definitely changed for the rest of his life,” Sciortino siad. “He’s got a long road of recovery ahead of him. And I think whoever did it should come forward and turn themselves in.”
Unfortunately, Kansas City police say no surveillance cameras in the area caught the crash.
So if you happened to be in the area of 152 Highway and North Church Road early Sunday morning or have any information that could help police, contact KCPD or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.