Victim Of Vacaville Hit-And-Run Returns Home
VACAVILLE (CBS13) – The teen who survived being run down by an SUV while walking on a Vacaville sidewalk returned home two days later, still in pain but feeling lucky to be alive.
T.C. Strickland, 16, said the last thing he remembers is walking to his grandmother's house Tuesday evening and doesn't recall the moments leading up to the horrific incident that left him injured and bleeding on the sidewalk on the 3500 block of Harbison Drive.
Witnesses told the Vacaville Police Department that a maroon SUV had hopped the curb and veered onto the sidewalk, smashing into Strickland. The driver of the vehicle fled before authorities arrived.
Emergency crews transported the unconscious victim to the hospital for treatment of head trauma and minor injuries, but miraculously, Strickland was not seriously hurt.
"My ankle is sore and it's swollen, so I can't put a lot of weight on it, and sometimes I get headaches," Strickland said. "To be honest, I'm blessed to be here, because I don't know how I survived that."
Investigators followed a trail of vehicle fluid and debris to the parking lot of a nearby Target Store and released surveillance video of the suspected driver inside the store. Authorities said the driver, identified as 41-year-old Jason Hagberg, identified himself as the suspect in a phone call to police and surrendered without incident after seeing the photo on television broadcasts.
The victim's father, Darius Strickland, said he's glad Hagberg turned himself in but can't understand why he ran in the first place.
"If you knew you hit somebody and left the crime scene I have a problem with you," Darius said. "I forgive you, but I do have a problem with you."
Hagberg has been released on $15,000 bail and is facing charges of felony hit and run. Authorities said he is being cooperative in their investigation.
