A Dearborn man who was charged with hitting a high school student as she walked last year was sentenced on Thursday to one year in jail.

Mahdi Bitar was charged with reckless driving causing serious impairment, which was a felony. He is ordered to serve two years of probation and will be banned from driving for a year upon his release.

The incident happened shortly after 7:35 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2024, in the area of Ford and Schaefer roads. Dearborn police said a 15-year-old Fordson High School student, who was walking to school, was attempting to cross Ford Road when a Jeep Grand Cherokee failed to stop and hit her. 

Bitar was charged a few weeks later, on Jan. 10, 2025.  

The teen was critically injured and was hospitalized for months. A representative for the teen's family read an impact statement in court on Thursday, saying the incident resulted in the teen going into a coma and enduring multiple surgeries. The incident also "shattered her body and her future," the representative said.

At the time of the crash, police believed speed was a factor, and the vehicle had an illegal window tint on the front windshield that could cause obscured vision.