Mother gives an update on teen struck by hit-and-run driver in Tempe
TEMPE, Ariz. - A Valley mother is speaking out after her teenage daughter was hit by a car while walking to school in Tempe on Dec. 3.
Police say the driver left the scene near Broadway Road and Country Club Way, but was later arrested.
The girl's mother, Shirley Jenks, has a message for parents and drivers.
"She is in a coma. It is not medically induced, so we are hoping that she does wake up," she says.
A week after Jenks' 16-year-old daughter Amie, known by her loved ones as the "punk rock princess," was hit by a car on her way to school, hope and prayer continue to move the family forward.
"We're hoping she'll be in a regular room by Christmas so we can open presents with her," Jenks said. "That's just what we're holding on to right now."
Police say 48-year-old Vincente Diaz Castellanos left the scene of the wreck, but was caught within hours, thanks to traffic camera technology at the real-time operations center.
He's accused of two felony charges.
Shirley says she has several messages for families, including the importance of talking about pedestrian safety.
"I know that she was crossing against the light and that's something that we've discussed several times to not do, and I would really like to make sure parents are talking to their kids about the dangers of that," Jenks said.
The mother says she swears by her cell-phone tracking apps she shares with her kids, too.
"I looked to where her cell phone was supposed to be and saw the police. I ran down there and showed them her picture and I found her," Jenks recalled.
But the biggest message as this family faces what they say is a true nightmare, is for the man who left the teen in the roadway after the collision.
"This is a 16-year-old little girl who was walking to school and this man just has no dignity and is able to drive off without a moral in his soul," said Amie's brother, CJ Jenks. "He said he was scared? How do you think my 16-year-old little sister who is now fighting for her life felt?"