A 9-year-old boy is fighting for his life in the hospital after he and his mother were hit by an SUV last week in Hialeah.
Family and friends say Digna Antonio and her son Navil Diaz were out shopping for pizza on Feb. 8 when they were hit.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said the driver of a black Volkswagen SUV was on Ludlum Road turning onto Northwest 186th Street when the driver struck the mother and child, who was traveling with a non-motorized scooter.
The driver stayed at the scene. Both Antonio and Diaz were rushed to Ryder Trauma Center.
“I feel bad,” said Leonardo Diaz, the boy’s father. “She’s a good mother and he was really hurt. He lost his teeth. His lung and kidney were affected. He comes and goes. He’s not doing well.”
Leonardo Díaz has two more children with Antonio. He said his ex-wife has already had five surgeries and their son had a major one on Friday.
He described his son as a typical 9-year-old and a happy boy who likes video games. Her child’s pain is now her pain.
“(He’s) a good kid, a normal kid,” Leonardo Diaz said. “Now, he just had surgery. There was some fluid coming out of his brain. His lung could get infected and he could die.”
The family is praying for a miracle, knowing this mother and son have a long road ahead of them.
“Everyone has been hanging around and waiting for the results,” said family friend Sebastian Arguello. “It’s felt like months but it’s been a couple of days so it’s been really hard.”
Leonardo Diaz said he is not angry.
“This could happen to anyone who drives,” he said. “I think he’s having a hard time too.”
The family is grateful to be out of the ICU, but they are still going through many surgeries.
“There are mixed feelings, but at the end of the day it’s a son and a wife, there’s going to be some anger, I wasn’t paying attention,” Arguello said. “We all make mistakes, but this mistake was a big one.”
FHP is still investigating and no charges have been filed so far. The family started a GoFundMe to help with medical bills.
