Clay deputies seek driver after 16-year-old Ridgeview High student critically injured in hit-and-run

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is searching for the driver who struck a 16-year-old Ridgeview High School student and fled the scene in Orange Park. The victim, identified as Karim Elgouhary, was riding a scooter when he was hit Monday afternoon and remains in critical condition.

The hit-and-run occurred around 3 p.m. near the intersection of Polk and Harrison avenues. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Elgouhary was struck by a brown and silver Ford pickup truck.

A 13-year-old witness walking home from school discovered the teen lying on the ground shortly after the crash and called 911. “His eyes looked like they were in the back of his head and he was like shaking a lot,” the witness said. She added that “he was laying on the floor with his scooter crushed. And then there was a guy yelling, call 911.”

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office noted that Elgouhary was carrying a pizza box, which remained at the side of the road Tuesday morning.

Family friends identified the victim as Elgouhary, and his brother confirmed that he remains in a coma. Stacy Hoph, a neighbor of the family, described learning about the incident and the extent of his injuries, which include a fractured rib, a fractured skull, a punctured lung, and internal bleeding in multiple areas of his brain. “They said, well, Kareen got hit by a car. I said what? My heart just sunk,” Hoph said. “He’s in severe, critical condition.”

“Everybody’s going 50 or more in a 25-mile-an-hour street. It’s just unacceptable, unacceptable,” Hoph said. She urged anyone with details about the driver or vehicle to contact investigators.

“To hit a kid, to knowingly hit a kid and leave him there for dead, it’s just unimaginable,” Hoph said. “If anybody had seen anything or you have any information, please come forward. You know, he deserves that. His family deserves it, you know, and it’s just not right. Do the right thing.”

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about the crash or the vehicle to call the sheriff’s office immediately.

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