SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Sevierville Police have arrested and charged a 47-year-old man in connection with the hit-and-run of two children near a bus stop.
A 6-year-old boy is in critical condition and a 16-year-old boy has multiple non-life threatening injuries after they were struck by a vehicle on the 700-block of West Main Street early Thursday morning.
The two victims are related, officials said.
Sevierville Police and Fire Departments responded just before 7 a.m. Dispatch said it was near the intersection with Ownby Drive.
Investigators said witnesses told them a pick-up truck traveling west on West Main Street struck the two children as they were crossing the road.
"After hitting the children, the driver reportedly fled the scene in the truck," Sevierville officials said in a release.
Detectives later identified the driver as Pablo Hernandez of Sevierville, who turned himself in. He was charged with felony leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury. A citation for driving without a valid driver's license is pending.
According to the Bryan Cox with the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Hernandez was illegally in the country and is originally from Mexico. ICE said they will detain him if he is released from criminal custody.
A parent told 10News that she witnessed the accident because her kids ride the bus with the injured children. She said the boys were crossing the street to get to the bus when they were hit.
"I got out my car screaming 'oh my gosh' and ran to the median to get the little boy because he was still in the middle of the road," Sabrina Osborne said. "I just hope and pray that [those] kids pull through."
Osborne said her son witnessed the hit-and-run too.
"It's awful. My little boy is going to have nightmares for a while because he doesn't really understand," she told 10News. "You don't want this to happen to your littles at all. So just hug them a little bit tighter and make sure you know they love you and you love them."
When asked if the kids were walking to the school bus, Sevierville spokesperson Bob Stahlke said, "That's our understanding."
Osborne said she's seen the kids cross the busy street to board the bus with her children since she moved there in October.
"They've always been really careful," Osborne said. "It isn't like them just to keep going if they saw a car coming."
Both children were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by the Sevier County Ambulance Service, City of Sevierville spokesperson Bob Stahlke said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident who has not already been in contact with law enforcement is asked to call SPD Sgt. Graham Brantley at 865-868-1748.