Mother of boy hit by car wants justice

FRANKFORD - March 22, 2011 (WPVI) -- 4-year-old Carl Russ cannot say much these painful days as he struggles to overcome the serious facial injuries he sustained Friday morning as he headed to school.

Carl is the victim of a hit-and-run driver. He playfully broke free from his father and stepped onto busy Pratt Street in front of his home, where he was hit by a fast-moving sedan. His injuries were extensive. Carl was rushed to surgery.

"He got three teeth pulled. Two were fractured, one was loose and they just took it out. He got eight stitches in the front of his mouth," said Carl's mother, Bernell Lewis.

When Lewis arrived at the hospital after being called from her job, she fainted, fearing Carl would not survive.

"I just went completely out. All I saw was breathing tubes, and.... It was a disaster just seeing it, for me," said Lewis.

Now Carl is slowly on the mend as police continue to search for the driver of a silver 2004 Lincoln Town Car captured by nearby surveillance cameras. The luxury car has tinted windows and a license plate with the first two letters believed to be "LM." The driver, who stopped briefly then sped off, remains at large.

RELATED: See a picture of the car police are looking for

"He didn't know if he left him dead. [Carl] could have been left dead," said Lewis. As for the driver: "He just kept moving," she said.

"If it was my child, I would want them to turn themselves in. If it was an accident, come back and say it was an accident. You don't just hit somebody and just leave like that," said neighbor Tamika Buckner.

"I know he's watching this," said Lewis of the driver. "So if you're watching this, please just come clean. All I want is justice."

Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact Philadelphia Police.

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philadelphia, pennsylvania, accident, children, hit and run, frankford, philadelphia police, crimefighters, local/state, vernon odom

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