La Quinta Teen Hurt by Hit and Run Driver

By Angela Monroe

CREATED Oct. 2, 2012

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  • The family of a La Quinta teen wants answers after their son was hurt by a hit and run driver Sunday. Video by kmir6.com

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LA QUINTA - The family of a La Quinta teen wants answers after their son was hurt by a hit and run driver Sunday.

17-year-old Joseph Moreno was looking forward to trying out for the basketball team at La Quinta High.
But his sister, Livier Moreno, says that goal is now gone after truck hit him, fracturing his leg.
"It's pretty bad, it's fractured in a lot of different places, he just had surgery yesterday, and we're pretty much just waiting to see what the doctor says because he said that the injury is pretty much as bad as it gets," said Livier.
It was on Calle Potrero and Avenida Madero where a truck struck Joseph as he and two friends rode their bicycles Sunday night around seven.
The driver of the truck did not stop.
"It's very irresponsible of whoever did this, because you hurt somebody, and you didn't even go back to help them out," said Livier.
In another tragic case several weeks ago, a hit and run driver left Palm Desert High School student Grant Virgin severely injured.
"School's in, you have more kids doing kind of evening activities, the weather's changing and that's causing more people to be out and about on the roadways, residential areas, walking and riding bikes," said Sgt. Robert Pickowitz with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"Wait for law enforcement to get there, make sure that if they are in an accident they're being responsible in that sense, so law enforcement can determine what actually happened," said Sgt. Pickowitz.
Officers say the truck that hit Joseph is a white or silver pickup truck with over-sized tires, possibly a Dodge Ram.
Because it's a quiet, residential neighborhood, there is a good chance the person is someone local and knows the area.
"Any information, any help anybody can give us, as far as for us to know who did this to him, because this is hard for all of us, and we are just trying to move forward from it," said Livier.
If you have any information on who hit Joseph in La Quinta -- or Grant several weeks earlier in Palm Desert -- please call the sheriff's department.