Hit-and-run driver who hit 3-year-old boy in parking lot sought in Highland

HIGHLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver who struck a 3-year-old boy, leaving him in stable but serious condition in Highland on Saturday.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department released a photo of the suspect's car - a maroon pick-up truck - as well as images of the suspect.

Surveillance video from a laundromat shows the victim playing an arcade game. Then his mother is shown a few steps behind him. The boy walks out of the frame and within seconds his mother is seen rushing toward him.

Paulina Torres works next door to the laundromat. She said she saw the boy on the ground, bleeding, while his mother asked him not to close his eyes. Witnesses told police the toddler was walking across the parking lot when he was hit.

"The truck was driving forward when it hit him, dragged him underneath the vehicle for a little bit. Once the driver realized that he had struck a child, he backed up and then left the area," said Deputy Sheriff Adam Cervantes.

Witness Kayiesha Brooks and employees in the area said some drivers in the parking lot are reckless.

"It's a lot of rushing going here due to having a liquor store, a fish market, a 99 cent store, so you have all types of different traffic coming out," she said.

Authorities said the truck is a 1997 F-150 and might have landscaping equipment in the back. The license plate number is 5H14823.

UPDATE: A suspect was arrested, officials announced on Wednesday.