North Port mom calls for change after teen injured by hit-and-run driver

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Thursday morning, a North Port mom received a devastating phone call. Her 15-year-old son Preston had been hit while riding his bike to North Port High School. 

Now, Katrina McKinnell wants one question answered. 

"This was a child," she said. "There's no way that you didn't know. Why didn't you stop?"

Around 6:50 a.m., Preston said he got the signal to cross at Sumter and Price Boulevard. As he rode his bike across, he heard the engine of an SUV speeding up to turn. 

"I remember looking through the windshield of a car and looking under the car and almost getting hit again," Preston told FOX 13. "I made sure to brace myself in case my head hit the ground."

As the SUV took off, a witness stopped to help. She described the suspect SUV as small and dark. 

North Port police are working to find the driver and vehicle. 

"If you know anything about this -- if it was you, maybe just an accident -- let’s do the right thing here," said Josh Taylor, the public information officer for North Port police. 

Medical bills continue to pile up. Preston was left with a broken collarbone, road rash and unimaginable pain. 

His bike, with a bent wheel, sits as a reminder to Katrina of how lucky her son is to be alive. She worries about others crossing the intersection. 

"I think we need to have brighter flashing lights because there are a lot of kids that even walk that route just to get to the high school and middle school. They need to have some safety," said Katrina. 

Katrina continues to hold out hope that the driver who hit her son will come forward. 

"Please I’m begging you. As a parent this is my child. This is a human being and he deserves to know who just left him there," she added. 

North Port police asks if anyone saw the crash or has vehicle or tag information to contact Ofc. Ryan Crosby at 941-429-7300.