Young Girl Survives Hit and Run, Police Search for Driver

By Adrianna Weingold

CREATED Nov. 15, 2012

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  • A 14-year-old girl is safe at home after being hit by a car on her way home from school. The driver fled the scene and is still on the loose. Video by kmir6.com

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CATHEDRAL CITY--A young girl survives a hit and run crash in Cathedral City. Now she and her mother are pleading for the publics help to find the driver who hit her and left the scene.
 
14-year-old Miya Jackson  was walking home from school Tuesday afternoon when she was hit by a car in the crosswalk. The driver apologized and then left her in the street.
 
"I saw the lights come and I thought she would maybe stop and she kept going and hit me," 14-year-old Miya Jackson said. "I slid against the windshield and then she hit the brakes and I flew off." 
 
Bruised and in shock Miya was lying in the middle of the street. The driver got out of her car, apologized and then drove away. Another witness stopped but was little help.
 
"I ended up picking up my things off the floor and the lady helped me and was like do you want to call someone and I said yeah my mom. She's like, oh my god I'm late for work, and she left too," Jackson said.
 
With no one to help her and no cell phone to call her mother Miya asked to use the phone at a nearby Jack In The Box. When they refused, the injured 14-year-old walked by herself back to the bus.
 
"When I met up with her she was limping and crying, teary eyed, she was just like I got hit by a car," said Miya's mother, Shanittra White.
 
Shanittra is thankful her daughter is alive and her injuries are minor, but the thought of what could have happened isn't far from her mind.
 
"She could have hit her head," White said. "She could have been bleeding inside and I wouldn't have my daughter no more because of someone else's actions and they could have helped at the time."
 
Cathedral City Police are looking for a burgundy or maroon 90's Toyota 4-door sedan with gray door handles and gray hubcaps.
 
The suspect is a heavy set, Hispanic woman in her late 20's early 30's with long brown hair.
 
"It made me really sad, like no one cared," Jackson said. "After that I just wanted to get to my mom so that's what I was just focused on was getting to my mom and letting her know exactly what happened."
 
With Miya safe at home recuperating from the ordeal, Shanittra is hoping whoever is responsible will come forward before someone else's child gets hurt.
 
The hit and run happened on Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 pm on Date Palm Drive and Market Place.
 
If you saw anything or have information about who may have hit Miya, please call Cathedral City Police. 
 
--Adrianna Weingold
aweingold@kmir6.com