Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
55º

‘I flew into the ditch’: Jacksonville 7-year-old recovering after hit-and-run while grabbing mail

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A family is searching for the driver of an SUV that struck their 7-year-old son while he was retrieving mail from their mailbox Wednesday on Jacksonville’s Westside.

The family told News4JAX that the impact of the black Honda CRV knocked Keyaan Smalls into a ditch, leaving him unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital and is expected to recover.

Keri Philk, Keyaan’s mother, described the incident as “the worst experience and the worst panic” she has ever felt.

She was alerted by Keyaan’s uncle, Ronald Bell, who heard a loud noise and discovered Keyaan lying in the ditch. Bell immediately called 911 and informed Philk about the incident.

“He had black marks from what looks like the tire all up his leg,” Philk explained. ”His whole shin is like, like road rash. His ear was like road rash here, and all down his ribs and everything. And he said he couldn’t move his leg. And then he just kind of went silent on us.”

RELATED | Man accused in Jacksonville hit-and-run death of 15-year-old on I-95 arrested in Orlando

Despite his injuries, Smalls is receiving around-the-clock care and is expected to be OK.

“They swerved into the grass, and then they hit me, then I flew to the ditch,” Smalls told News4JAX.

This is the second time one of Philk’s children has been hit along this road.

She said she also wants to see increased safety measures, such as more patrols, cameras, speed bumps and a lower speed limit to protect the many children who walk to and from school in the area.

“We’re just happy he’s alive,” Philk said.