Gary Teen Hurt In Hit-Run Accident While Jogging
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- Nayonna Parker tries to imagine how it happened, how her grandson could be so seriously hurt while jogging near the Police Athletic League building Tuesday night.
"Were they on the phone? Or texting? Reaching down to grab something? They had to have some kind of speed to cause that trauma," Parker said Wednesday at her desk in the Gary office of the Lake County Prosecutor, where she works as a secretary.
Her grandson, Emille Robinson, 18, a member of the PALS boxing program for about five years, was jogging on 30th Avenue west of Broadway shortly before 8 p.m. when an "older model SUV" hit him hard enough to send him flying. He landed on his head, splitting his scalp. His pelvis and ankle are broken.
The SUV didn't stop. "He could have been dead, and they didn't stop to see," Parker said.
Robinson was running as preparation for his next boxing match in two weeks. His coach Henry Cockrell found Robinson on the ground near the side of the road. Robinson was unconscious but opened his eyes once for his coach.
"He's a good kid, he's a good kid," Parker said over and over.
Robinson, a twin who is set to graduate from Wirt-Emerson this spring and attend Indiana State University in the fall, was flown to the Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., where his parents, Junior and Chakole Robinson, are by his side.
Parker came to work Wednesday, hoping to keep busy while waiting for word. "He's already had one surgery and he's going back," she said.
Hugs from her boss, deputy prosecutor Rosie Lynch, quiet words of encouragement from co-workers and two boxes of tissues on her desk helped Parker focus on the stacks of files on her desk.
But then she thinks of Emille — who plays piano at their church and had plans set to attend prom — and the tears flow.
"I pray they get the individual who did this," she said.
Cmdr. Kerry Rice, a PALS coordinator, said police believe the SUV was a Chevrolet or GMC and has front end damage. One headlight was left at the scene, he said.
Detective Cpl. Agnes Roberts is investigating the hit-and-run crash. Anyone with information can call her at 881-1217.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
