Fifteen-year-old Vicente Moreira is recovering at home after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident in Bedford, N.S., on Monday.
“I felt a lot of pain and I was confused,” said Moreira. “Everything was just blurry. I could barely understand what was going on.”
Vicente said while he was at a bus stop Monday evening in Bedford with his girlfriend, a vehicle hit him and didn’t stop after the collision. “I just remember waking up in a puddle and there’s just a ton of people there,” said Moreira.
That evening, Moreira’s parents received a call from the hospital, informing them their son had been hit by a vehicle. Their stomachs sank and questions filled their minds. "
What is the level? What happened? Maybe he can die or maybe he can’t walk," said Miguel Moreira, Vicente’s father.
When the hospital reassured them their son was safe, they still could not believe someone had hit him and drove off.
“It was a shock. We have been living here more than eight years, and we know that the snow is a little dangerous for drive, but we never imagined something could happen to us,” said Miguel Moreira.
In the past year, Halifax Regional Police has reported 1,427 hit-and-run accidents in the region, including both vehicle and pedestrian collisions.
“The unfortunate reality is they are a daily occurrence that happens and (in such cases) we would investigate both vehicles, pedestrians, and two-vehicle collisions,” said Cst. Martin Cromwell, public information officer for Halifax Regional Police.
Since the incident, Vicente Moreira has been taking medication for pain from the injury. While he remains at home recovering, he said he is still trying to understand how someone could have left him there.
“I’ve got a little sister on the way. Not only that, I got my family,” he said. “[They] could’ve at least checked on me. They could’ve killed me. It’s not that hard to just say, ‘I’m sorry, it was an accident.’”
Miguel Moreira said he has been speaking with police who are still investigating the incident. He said he had been informed the person who hit his son was driving a white SUV.
“They don’t have more information. The weather’s condition was not good,” he said.
Miguel Moreira is turning to the public for help, hoping to find the driver who hit his son and left.
“There needs to be something that happens. If not, this will continue to happen, and people will think they can get away with it,” he said.
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