FLAGLER ESTATES, Fla. – A middle school student was critically injured in a hit-and-run crash in Flagler Estates on Friday morning, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said at approximately 6:45 a.m., a citizen found a teenage boy who had been hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Palatka Boulevard and Carpenter Avenue.
The teen was airlifted to a trauma center in critical condition, according to the St. Johns County Fire and Rescue Department.
According to the St. Johns County School District, the teenage boy attends Gamble Rodgers Middle School in St. Augustine.
Deputies said the boy was walking to his bus stop —the pickup was scheduled for 6:08 a.m.— but he never made it.
The suspect vehicle was still outstanding, according to SJSO. Deputies are asking for the community’s help in finding the driver. The vehicle will have front-end damage.
“I know you are probably nervous and anxious and you don’t know what to do. Please hear me on this, do the right thing,” Lieutenant George Harrigan said. “Do not put this family through trauma wondering what happened to their loved one.”
If any resident in the area has any exterior video footage facing Palatka Blvd near Delgado Ave. and Carpenter Ave., or has any information, please send it to sointelligence@sjso.org or call (904) 824-8304.
“If you live in this area, in Flagler Estates, anytime this morning, probably from 5:30 a.m. to the time the child was found at 6:45, if you have any type of electronic device that captured video on your vehicle in front of your residence, please review those devices and that software and get it to us immediately,” Harrigan said.
News4JAX spoke with people in the Flagler Estates area who said no one should ever be treated like the student was.
One neighbor said she was sad but not shocked.
“I don’t see anybody doing the speed limit,” she said.
This incident marks the second crash this week involving a teenager being hit by a car in St. Johns County.
On Wednesday, a Fruit Cove Middle School student was riding a bicycle near Racetrack Road when she was hit and critically injured.
Harrigan said drivers need to pay attention to the road, not their phones and not be distracted.
For students walking or riding bikes to school: wear clothes that are visible at all times, and if it’s dark bring a flashlight with you and consider walking away from the road if possible.
