Maurice Collier, 8, was hit by a car while being dropped off in front of Aldridge Elementary School on East 131st Street at around 8:40 a.m Wednesday. He is in serious condition with bleeding in the brain at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. The driver of the vehicle took off in a white car.
The boy's mother - living any parents' nightmare - is struggling to cope with her son's injuries.
"He has head trauma to the brain. It is serious," Catherine Collier told ABC7.
Witnesses say the second grader darted out from between cars right as he headed to school across from his home.
"Maurice was laying on the ground and his legs were going up in the air. The first thing that came to my mind, I grabbed both my son and my baby and ran into the building and called for help," said Jackie Williams, witness.
While keeping children under control is always a challenge on a street where buses and emergency vehicles jockey for space, community organizers had a feeling that an accident would happen one day.
"There is a lot of things going on with funding issues, but this is a big concern of mine for three years. We need the neighborhood to pull together. It should be a total action on everybody's part, parents, the community," said Phyllis Palmer, Local School Council.
As police search for the suspect, Maurice's mother has a plea.
"Turn yourself in...That's all the family asks so you can ease yourself and the family can be at ease," said Collier.
