6-Year-Old Boy With Autism Victim In Camarillo Hit-And-Run, Search For Suspect Underway
CAMARILLO (CBSLA.com) — A six-year-old Camarillo boy with autism is back home from the hospital after a driver hit him and took off.
Jennifer DeBolt is still physically shaken after her son Ryder was hit by a car around 3 p.m. Wednesday in front of their family home.
"I'm shaking. My son could have died," she said. "They found blood in his belly — internal bleeding."
Ryder and his five-year-old brother, Wyatt, have autism and are non-verbal.
Jennifer says their therapists and a babysitter were putting the boys in a stroller to go to a park near their Camarillo home when Ryder got away and went a few feet into the street.
"There was a speeding car coming so fast that he got hit," she said.
Witnesses say the driver in a four-door grey sedan with tinted windows initially pulled over.
"My son lifted his head a few inches off the ground and I guess as soon as the driver saw that he took off," Jennifer said.
A Good Samaritan chased after the driver but the car got away and no one got the license plate number.
"It's frustrating and you get angry and sad ... you just want somebody to do the right thing," Ryder's father, Stephen DeBolt, said.
Ryder was released from the hospital Thursday night. He is covered in scrapes and bruises and was afraid to come outside where the accident happened until he was safe in his father's arms. Doctors say he has a concussion.
"It's been rough but he's doing better and he's alive," Stephen said. "That's all we really care about."
The family also has a message for the hit-and-run driver.
"If you're listening: I don't understand how you could just drive off," Jennifer said. "It was an accident. You wouldn't have gotten in trouble. He's six years old and he's autistic."
Deputies are still looking for the driver. They ask anyone with information to contact the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. in Camarillo.
