CAREFREE, AZ — The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is searching for the driver who hit a woman crossing the intersection of Stagecoach and Tom Darlington in Carefree. The woman remains in a hospital but wants to say 'thank you' to the person who came to her rescue and other community members who are bringing attention to the case.
"You need to stop if you hurt somebody, and just slow down," said Jo Addah Watson.
Watson was in tears as she showed ABC15 the spot where her daughter Susan Nelson, a school psychologist, was hit by a car.
"She said, 'I was standing right in the median,'" said Watson.
The incident happened around 6:30 a.m. on February 6th. Susan told ABC15 by phone - from the hospital - what happened after that.
"I looked both ways and crossed to the median. I looked again, and that's when I saw some headlights. I thought they were still fairly far out. So, I started to walk and then I looked again to see where the headlights were, and they were on top of me pretty much," said Nelson.
MCSO is investigating the incident and trying to find the driver who took off.
Officials say the 911 call they initially received came from someone saying they saw feet sticking out of the median and called it in as some type of traffic hazard. That person didn't stop either, and Susan was so badly hurt, she couldn't move.
Susan said she remembers lying in the median for about 30 to 45 minutes before someone finally came to her rescue.
"A truck... I thought I saw him slowing down, so I did my left arm again and he said, 'Are you okay?' I said, 'No, I need help.' And that's when he came over, and I just remember hugging him. I didn't want to die alone. I said, 'Please don't leave me,'" said Nelson.
Susan and the rest of her family hope to find that man and thank him for his heroic actions.
"He was a lifesaver… cause no telling how long she would have laid out there otherwise," said Watson.
It's been exactly a week, and Susan is still in the hospital recovering from multiple broken bones and a head injury.
Community members learned about what happened through social media. They have since rallied behind the family, even reaching out to Carefree Mayor John Crane to bring attention to the case.
"It's saddening; it's disturbing that a driver would do that and just drive off," said Mayor Crane.
MSCO says that a car part was found at the scene. They hope to compare that to video footage to come up with a vehicle description and find the driver in Susan's case.
