LULING, La. — A 4-year-old from Luling is at Children’s Hospital New Orleans recovering after being hit by a car July 4.
Aliasha Harris said her son, Latrell Hutchinson Jr., was outside their home on Paul Fredrick Street lighting fireworks with family when an SUV drove down the road and hit him.
“My son was outside popping fireworks and I guess he was in the middle of the road about to light a match and a truck just came out of nowhere and struck him,” Harris said. “He ran over my son. My son was underneath the car.”
Harris said the driver initially stopped, but then left when Harris left to take her son to the hospital.
“He was trying to defend himself, like trying to put the blame on my son,” Harris said. “Just come forward, son. You came out the car to fuss with me. Why didn’t you just stay? You could have stayed.”
Harris said her son has a fractured arm, bruises on his face and a cut on his liver that is now healing. She said doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
“I really want to cry. It’s hard. It’s hard looking at my son like that and I’m trying to stay strong because I don’t want to cry in front of him,” Harris said. “Thank God it wasn’t worse, but we’re heartbroken because he’s 4 years old and he turns 5 on Sunday and has to be in the hospital.”
The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to identify the driver who hit the child.
If you have any information, you can contact Corporal Bobby McNulty at 985-783-6807 or the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office Traffic Division. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-903-STOP. You do not have to give your name and could receive up to $2,500.