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Hit-and-run driver strikes 9-year-old waiting for school bus, Hillsborough deputies say

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is searching for the driver who hit the child and then drove off.
 
Surveillance video captured a "dark-colored sedan" passing a home just moments after a nine-year-old boy did. The car is considered a vehicle of interest by deputies after the nine-year-old was struck by a vehicle that then fled the scene.
Surveillance video captured a "dark-colored sedan" passing a home just moments after a nine-year-old boy did. The car is considered a vehicle of interest by deputies after the nine-year-old was struck by a vehicle that then fled the scene. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]
Published April 1, 2021|Updated April 2, 2021

WIMAUMA — A 9-year-old boy waiting for a school bus was struck by a vehicle and hospitalized Thursday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Now deputies are searching for the driver, who fled the crash scene.

The incident took place about 6 a.m. in the 2400 block of W Lake Drive, near Bishop Road. The child’s mother took him to the hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said. She called 911 to report the incident about 7 a.m.

The child was treated for head injuries, deputies said. His condition was not known Thursday evening.

“We are urging anyone who may have witnessed this incident, or who may recognize the vehicle in question, to please come forward,” Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “No tip is too small and may help our detectives identify the driver at fault.”

Surveillance video from a nearby home shows the child walking to the bus stop. It doesn’t show the child being struck, but the Sheriff’s Office said it is seeking a vehicle — a “dark-colored sedan” — that passed by the home’s surveillance camera moments after the boy did. The agency did not release the name of the child or mother.

Anyone with information about the driver or this incident is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.