Hit-And-Run Crash Kills Apple Valley High School Football Player Lawrence Andrews
APPLE VALLEY (CBSLA) — A 14-year-old boy is dead after a Tuesday night hit-and-run crash near the James Woody Community Center in Apple Valley.
"He was a good kid. He loved football. Football was everything to him," his mother said in an emotional statement.
Lawrence Andrews was walking near a baseball field when he was struck at 8:11 p.m. on Ottawa Road, between Navajo and Manhasset roads. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Andrews' mother and brother were walking with him and witnessed the tragic event.
"We looked both ways and the car was way down there, like it had just turned by the stop sign and next thing, like, the car sped up as it got closer and I barely pulled my younger one out of the way and I went back to reach for Lawrence, but he wasn't there. He was gone," Sara Andrews said.
Other witnesses told police that a white or silver two-door coupe going east on Ottawa Road at over 60 mph hit Lawrence, who was reportedly in a crosswalk, then took off. The suspect vehicle is believed to be a Nissan 350Z or Infinity G35, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Ottawa Road was shut down for about six hours while investigators combed the area for evidence and talked to witnesses.
"You running away is a coward, a plain old coward," the victim's father, Lawrence Andrews, said. "I don't know if this guy has kids or this woman has kids. You guys should know how we feel and you shouldn't have ran."
The teen was a sophomore at Apple Valley High School, where he played on the football team. The school's football program Lawrence would be truly missed for his laughter, sincerity, grit, and passion for football.
"The Sundevil Football Family lost a great one last night," the Apple Valley High School's football team said in an Instagram post.
Family members of Andrews have started a GoFundMe Campaign to help with expenses related to his passing.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information can contact Deputy R. Grissom or Deputy J. Malocco at the Apple Valley Sheriff's Station at (760) 240-7400 or sheriff's dispatch at (760) 956-5001.