The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying a suspect accused of failing to render aid after striking a child in northwest Austin on Friday.
According to police, 10-year-old Caden Walsh was walking home from Forest North Elementary School about 3:30 p.m. near the 13000 block of Hymeadow Drive when the vehicle left the roadway and struck him. Police said the driver left the scene without stopping to check on the child.
"He drove on the sidewalk and hit me. I was trying to jump out of the way. Luckily, he only hit my leg," Caden said. "All I remember seeing is an SUV. I don't remember seeing that much."
The impact left Caden with a bloody leg and a sprained ankle.
"I used one of my legs to hold my support and then other leg I kinda just dragged on the ground," he said.
After crawling for a few minutes, an unidentified woman spotted him and got him home. Caden's stepfather, Jay Brady, took him to the hospital as soon as he learned what happened.
"I saw his leg. I thought he got bit by a dog. It looked pretty bad. And then when he said, 'I got hit by a car,' that's when I was like, 'We gotta go,'" Brady said. "If I were to hit an animal or something like that, I would stop to check what it was, not just drive away. To leave a kid out there ... he could've died. "
The vehicle is believed to be a red Chevrolet SUV with dark-tinted windows, but police said Caden is not certain.
APD Sr. Officer Destiny Winston praised the unidentified woman for her actions and expressed the department's interest in speaking with her about further details of the incident.
“I think that’s amazing,” Winston said in a press conference. “That’s what you should do, right? You see a child by himself, injured. Luckily, it was someone who was acting in good faith and was there to assist the child, help the child and make sure he made it home okay.”
Winston said since the beginning of 2018, Austin police have received 49 reports of failure to stop and render aid, and 1,025 reports of "leaving the scene" crashes.
“Had the person that actually struck the child stopped right away, that child may have been able to receive aid a lot more quickly. 9-1-1 could be called,” Winston said.
According to Winston, APD will be increasing its patrols in the area Caden was struck.
Police ask anyone with more information to contact them at (512) 974-5789, Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS, or use the new Crime Stoppers App.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.