Young father in Lakeland still recovering, police searching for suspect after hit-and-run

LAKELAND, Fla. - More than a month after a hit-and-run crash left a young man seriously hurt, his family is holding out hope the suspect will be caught.

The crash happened on US-98 near I-4 in Lakeland on November 10.

READ: Young father seriously hurt in hit-and-run crash, investigators search for driver

Justin Jones' father, Jesse, says his 29-year-old son is back home recovering. He's wheelchair-bound while he heals his broken bones and is doing well cognitively.

"His spirits are up. He's not down in the depression dumps, but he's still not 100 percent," said Jones. "He's just taking it day by day and doing the best that he can."

Shortly before 10:30 p.m., Jones was trying to cross US-98 when he was struck by a pick-up truck.

"He generally remembers most everything up until the impact and then after that, it's just what he's been told has happened to him," Jones said.

READ: Pedestrian injured in Lakeland hit-and-run, police searching for suspect

A witness snapped a blurry photo of the dark-colored lifted pick-up that may have damage on the passenger side. The truck stopped after hitting Jones and then drove off southbound.

"We don't want someone like this out on the road who's not going to stop if it happens again," said Jones. "They're just not accountable for their actions so we just want to protect other people from something like this happening. It's a terrible, terrible accident."

Jones' family is holding out hope the suspect will be caught, or they turn themselves in.

"Maybe think about if it was your loved one on the other end of the receiving end of the truck if they were experiencing the pain we're going through."

A spokesperson for the Lakeland Police Department said there are no updates at this time, but the case is still active and ongoing.

The family is offering a $7,000 reward for information that leads to the driver's arrest.