8-year-old boy paralyzed after hit-and-run in Chester; mom speaks out

PHILADELPHIA - A heartbreaking story has emerged as a young boy is seriously injured after a hit-and-run.

The boy's family is now demanding justice.

What they're saying:

Mom speaks out 

"I'm numb. Like this whole situation, I'm numb," said Anita Carrington. "Today is the second day my son went flat line this week," she added.

Anita Carrington shared heartbreaking pictures of her 8-year-old son, Ny'leek, who has been at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for over a week now after she says a driver hit him and kept going.

"My heart's been broken before, but this is the first time I actually experienced a heart that actually hurts," she said.

FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson talked with Anita, her son's father, and their other son, Naadir, outside the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Thursday night.

"It felt like somebody punched me in my chest. Punched me in my heart," Anita said.

The family is struggling with the devastating news of Ny'leek's condition.

"Right now, what they're telling us is he is paralyzed from the neck down. So they're telling us he will never walk again," Anita explained.

What happened?

The hit-and-run happened just before 4 p.m. on February 4. 

Ny'leek and his brother Naadir had just gotten off the SEPTA bus near Ninth and Tilghman streets after coming home from Chester Upland School of the Arts. 

Anita was waiting on the other side of the street, she says, with her arm out to stop traffic.

"The bus driver beeped his horn to let traffic know that it's people coming off the bus," Anita recalled. "I hear the boom. But then I hear boom boom. And then he dragged my baby up the street. He never stopped. He kept going."

She says the car came from behind the bus, going so fast she could barely see it, but what she did see, she will never forget.

"Me and my son Naadir, we had to witness my baby getting hit and dragged by a car," Anita said.

The family says police told them they found the car, a Volvo, ditched in Philadelphia, but they're still looking for the driver. 

Family reactions

Ten-year-old Naadir was overwhelmed with tears, thinking of his brother, who he says is always full of joy. 

The reality is hard for his dad to come to grips with.

"The only thing that's hitting me harder than anything else is my son is laying up there in the bed, he can't move. He's a mover. He likes to move. He gets in trouble a lot for moving too much, and now he can't move," said Micah Ellison, Ny'leek's father. "I just want the person to turn himself in. That's all I'm asking. It's hard. Eight years old. His story hasn't even begun."

They're leaning on faith, praying for Ny'leek's healing and justice.

"You left him there to die, and to let you know, he died in the back of the ambulance, and thank God I serve a mighty God. Because my God I serve brought my son back to life, and he's keeping my son here with us. But what I need you to do, I need you to turn yourself in," Anita pleaded.

What you can do:

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family during this time.