Teen Remains On Ventilator After Hit & Run Accident
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - An 18-year old described by her mother as a fun loving, intelligent teen who loves to dance is hooked up to a ventilator fighting for her life at Jackson Memorial Hospital after she was involved in a hit and run accident over the weekend.
"Right now its hurting me bad. I have never seen her in a predicament like this,"said her brother Devon Poitier.
The family says Dericka's boyfriend, Satchal Rivers, was walking her home along NW 13th Avenue when she was hit by a car while crossing 54th Street and the driver of the car kept going.
"Boom it was real loud then when I looked out she was on the front of the car, then she was going in the air and she fell to the floor," said Rivers.
Dericka Banks suffered head trauma, multiple broken bones and is not able to breathe on her own.
Her brother says doctors have Dericka heavily sedated to keep her from moving but he sees slight signs of improvement.
"When i went in their yesterday, her face was swollen and everything. Now when I went in there this morning the swelling went down. That's a good thing, that's a good start," said Poitier.
Dericka's family said the teen has a bright future ahead of her; a junior in high school, she's has already received a scholarship for college.
The family says it's devastating to see the young woman who loves to dance and laugh, in a hospital bed but they stay faithful that she will make a full recovery.
"Honestly when she gets out of here I promise you I am going to do everything i can to make her better," said Poitier.
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Now her family is praying that she will pull through and the person who did this will come forward
"My daughter is going to come out of this, I know she will, I just want the one who did this to come forward," said Banks.
Rivers said the car that hit Dericka may have been a champagne colored SUV and it likely has front-end damage. It could possibly be missing a bumper, which he said was left on the road after the crash.
If you have any information, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.