HUDSON, Fla. — Authorities are searching for the driver of a pickup truck who allegedly struck two Pasco County teenagers riding a mini bike on U.S. 19, leaving both in critical condition.
The crash happened Sunday night at U.S. 19 and New York Avenue in Hudson. Sixteen-year-old Kaiden Paradise-Smith and 15-year-old Darius Maddox were riding home from a nighttime trip to get snacks when a white Ford F-150 reportedly hit them and drove away, according to witnesses.
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Both boys suffered serious head injuries, broken bones and internal lacerations. They remain hospitalized in critical condition.
“It’s aggravating. It’s horrible,” said Sarah Pomales, Darius’s mother.
“For you not to stop for anybody whether it’s a child or an adult. It’s just heartbreaking to see society and humanity where it is today,” Kaiden’s mother, Tonya Paradise said.
Paradise, said several bystanders rushed to help her son and his friend after the crash.
“I think they both would have lost their life if it wasn’t for those good Samaritans that guarded and protected them and made sure they were the best they could be at that moment,” Paradise said.
U.S. 19 is one of the most dangerous roadways in Florida and has been the site of numerous fatal crashes over the years. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has listed parts of the highway in Pasco County among the state’s deadliest corridors for pedestrians and motorcyclists.
When Tampa Bay 28’s Erik Waxler visited the scene Monday, he found a roadside memorial for another recent victim, Steven Colvin, a husband, father and cousin of Kaiden’s mother.
Colvin was hit and killed on his motorbike about 10 feet from where Sunday’s crash occurred.
“That intersection is really bad. It’s do as you please and do what you can. Unfortunately. They need to fix that,” Paradise said.
Pomales urged anyone with information about the hit-and-run driver to contact the Florida Highway Patrol by calling *347 (FHP) or 1-800-387-1290.
“If you just speak up. That’s it. If you know something, just say something. These kids are fighting for their lives,” she said.
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