Westmoreland County parents call driver who fled after hitting their 8-year-old boy "heartless"
The driver of a car that hit a young boy on his bike in Westmoreland County has come foward after seeing his vehicle posted on social media. But that's no consolation to the boy's family, who questions why the driver left in the first place.
Eight-year-old Ben Smith was hit in an intersection near Emma Street and Harrison Avenue while playing with his friends. The driver initially stopped and got out of his car, but only to move Smith's bike out of the way before taking off.
"How can you leave an 8-year-old boy just laying there, not checking on him? How can you be such a heartless individual to not check on a child?" said Ben Smith's dad.
"Heartless and doesn't have respect or doesn't care about nobody," said Ben's mom, Samantha Cook.
Ben Smith's parents are speaking directly to the man who hit their son. While KDKA-TV has learned that the driver has since come forward, they still can't wrap their minds around the fact he hit a child and left the scene.
"Somebody at the park heard the car hit him and the guy left," said Ben's grandma Theresa Whitefield.
Whitefield says it was shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday when a white car, now identified as the car that struck her grandson on his bike, flew by her house. She says she didn't think anything of it until she happened upon Smith moments later on her way to pick up his mom.
"He was just sitting on the sidewalk but his head and leg were hurting. He was scared," Whitefield said.
Smith was rushed to Forbes then transported to Children's Hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and some minor leg injuries before being released.
Smith says he's happy to be home but upset about his bike.
"He was begging for an electric bike and we just bought him a new electric bike last week and he's laying in the hospital and that's the only thing he cared about was his bike because he thought we were going to be mad. We told him we aren't mad, we can fix the bike, buddy," Whitefield said.
