HELENA, Ala. (WBRC) – Helena Police have charged a suspect in a hit and run in Helena.
Jeremy Shaw is accused of hitting a 19-year-old woman with autism then taking off.
Police said this happened on Stonecreek Drive in the Old Cahaba Neighborhood.
Maddie Hart’s dad said she was on her way to school when this happened, now she’s recovering at UAB Hospital from a broken collarbone and scrapes from head to toe.
He said he understands accidents happen, but can’t understand why the driver would leave her there.
David Hart said he was already at the hospital with another family member when he got the phone call that his daughter, Maddie, was hit by car.
“It’s terrifying. It’s every person’s worst nightmare. Not knowing what was going on is what was really the scariest part,” Hart said.
Hart said 19-year-old Maddie has high-functioning autism, but it’s still been difficult piecing together what happened.
“She’s awake. She’s talking. You know, she’s upset this happened. She’s confused. Again, she doesn’t always portray her thoughts, her feelings correctly. So, it’s really hard sometimes to get a full gage of how bad things can be,” Hart explained.
Hart said Maddie normally takes the bus to Falcon Flight at the University of Montevallo, but she walked the two blocks school on Thursday, and was just a short distance away from the building when police said the driver, Jeremy Shaw, hit her.
Shaw told police he asked Maddie if she was okay, and when she said she was, he drove off.
A witness who saw it all unfold called police.
“I mean…if you looked at her, you would know that she was in an accident. I mean she was wearing shorts and you know, sandals and really scraped up head to toe. So, I’m assuming she got dragged across the pavement for a fair amount of distance,” Hart said.
Hart is keeping his composure but can’t wrap his head around the fact that someone hurt his daughter and left her to fend for herself.
“That’s the thing that I keep coming back to. Like I said before, accidents are accidents. That’s why they’re called accidents, but when it comes to people, a child, or even someone with special needs or anyone for that matter, if someone’s hurt, you need to take responsibility and stay and find out what’s really going on,” Hart said.
Helena Police Chief, Brad Flynn said Shaw made a “stupid mistake” and will now have to take responsibility for his actions.
He said when accidents like this happen, it is the driver’s lawful responsibility to stay at the scene.
Police are charging Shaw with leaving scene of accident with injuries.
