JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville boy spent his 11th birthday in the hospital after a hit-and-run Friday night in Eastside, family tells First Coast News.
The family members identified the boy as Vito Johnson, who is in a medically-induced coma at UF Health Jacksonville with a fractured skull and spine. He had brain surgery on his birthday Saturday.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has not released any information about the crime other than saying it's investigating a hit-and-run, involving a child, near the intersection of Phelps and Troyan streets.
"They had to put a plate in his head," Jackie Alexander, Vito's grandmother explained. "To be honest, I went in there and I couldn't even look at him, because he don't even look like his self. He look totally different and I couldn't take it. I had to walk out of there."
They say Vito was struck while riding his bike around 6 p.m. on Feb. 4 near Phelps Street and Troyan Street.
Vito was with some other neighborhood children when a car came speeding through the area, according to the family.
Vito's brother, who asked not to be identified, says he ran to the scene when he heard about the incident.
"It was hard ... seeing him like that on the ground, and before his birthday," Vito's brother said. "He was ready for his birthday, he had a basketball game."
Family members say they want whoever hit Vito to be held accountable.
"I'm just asking for anybody with any information, that knows anything, of the hit-and-run of Vito Johnson to please come forward," Alexander said.
The family is asking anyone who knows about the incident to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).
