HOUSTON – A child is in the hospital after he was hit by a vehicle near his home in northwest Harris County late Thursday.
According to police, the 3-year-old boy wearing only a diaper wandered out of an apartment complex near Jones Road and Oakley Terrace Lane and was struck by a slow-moving car.
Witness Vicki Fehmur told KPRC she drove up on the accident and jumped out of her car when she realized what had happened.
“We were asking, Where are the parents, where the parents?' And nobody knew where the parents were,” said Fehmur.
Fehmur said the driver initially stopped and called 911 but later drove away from the scene. She stayed with the child and talked to him to help keep him calm until emergency responders arrived.
“His little 'Batman' flip-flops had flown off of him upon the impact so I went and got his little shoes and I told him, ‘You're so brave. I have your 'Batman' shoes. You're the superhero. Everything is going to be OK,’” Fehmur said.
Fehmur said she went to the emergency room to check on the child and met the boy’s mother, who explained how he got out.
"(The mother) said – ‘I was about to go pick up my husband,’” said Fehmur. “’He's 3 years old. He loves to play with the locks on the door,’ and I said, ‘I know, I have a 2-year-old grandson, he does the same thing.' She said, ‘I turned my back, I turned back around and he was gone.'"
The boy sustained injuries, including two broken legs. He remains in the hospital in stable condition.
Police are working to track down the driver.