A 12-year-old boy was struck by an SUV in Mid-City Tuesday evening and left on the side of the road, his family says. The boy, identified by relatives as Asher White Phillips, suffered a broken jaw and a swollen leg and will begin seventh grade with his jaw wired shut while the driver remains at large.
Surveillance Footage Shows Crash And SUV Speeding Away
Security camera footage captured Asher rolling through a stop sign on his bike and turning from North Solomon onto Toulouse just before 8:30 p.m., when an oncoming SUV struck him without braking, according to FOX 8. The family says the driver did not stop and that a lighted sign in the windshield made them suspect the vehicle may have been a rideshare. Investigators are asking anyone with video or who recognizes the vehicle to call NOPD’s Traffic Division Hit and Run Unit at 504-658-6210 or report tips anonymously to CrimeStoppers GNO at 504-822-1111, the station reports.
Family Recounts Terrifying Moments And Summer In Recovery
Asher told FOX 8, “I hit the ground and I felt a huge pain in the jaw.” His mother, Brenna White, said she arrived to find emergency responders already on scene, and his father, Nicholas Phillips, said “it’s pretty hard to explain to them how someone truly could be the lowest of low and do this,” per the family. Neighbors ran to help and paramedics transported Asher to a hospital where he is being treated as he recovers this summer.
What The Law Says About Fleeing A Serious Crash
Under Louisiana law, intentionally failing to stop and render aid after an accident can be charged as hit-and-run under La. R.S. 14:100 and carries penalties that rise when serious injury occurs, per Justia. If investigators determine the vehicle belonged to a transportation-network driver, state rules list hit-and-run among convictions that can disqualify a person from driving for a TNC, according to FindLaw.
Neighbors See A Troubling Pattern On New Orleans Streets
Hit-and-runs have become a recurring safety concern in New Orleans: earlier this month a separate collision on the Danziger Bridge left a man dead and the driver on the run, per man dead, driver on the run. Community groups and neighbors say even brief smartphone video can be vital to identifying a fleeing driver.
The family says Asher is out of sports for the summer as he recovers with his jaw wired shut, and they hope a witness will step forward. Anyone with footage or information is asked to contact NOPD's Hit and Run Unit at 504-658-6210 or CrimeStoppers of GNO at 504-822-1111.
