MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 16-year-old boy is on a long road to recovery after being hit by a car on his way to Hazel Park High School last Friday morning.
According to police, the suspect fled the scene just after 7:50 a.m. and jumped onto westbound I-696 after hitting Nathan Goodson near East Progress and Couzens Avenue. The suspect still has not been found.
“I have so much anger about it because they don’t know if he was alive, they don’t know if they instantly killed him and they still just took off," Goodson's mom Rachel Attanasio said.
Family says that Goodson rides his bike to school every day and has had close calls before. People living near the intersection say cars often speed up and run red lights to quickly get onto I-696.
"They don’t pay attention to anybody who might be crossing," neighbor Bronson Sippola said. “I’ve almost been hit a couple times.”
After Goodson was hit Friday, he laid in the middle of the street, blacked out and had a seizure before a woman stopped traffic to help him and call 911.
"I owe her my life," Attanasio said.
Once an active wrestler, runner and overall aspiring athlete, Goodson was left with a skull fracture, a brain bleed, spinal and internal injuries and deaf in his right ear.
“They’ve taken away everything he loves in a split moment," Goodson's father Steve Attanasio Jr. said. “They’re an animal whoever did it. They’re an absolute animal.”
Goodson returned from the hospital Thursday and continues to recover from home with the support from family and friends. His family says he hopes to return to sports soon and hope whoever did this turns themselves in.
"Please just come forward," Steve Attanasio said.
Madison Heights police say they are looking for a dark colored SUV. If you have any information, call the Madison Height Police Department 248-585-2100.
Family friends have also set up a fundraiser to help cover Goodson's medical expenses.
