Lennox Lake was in a car seat as his family was driving home following a trip to Disneyland when a truck ran a stop sign and hit their car on the side where Lennox was seated.
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The truck sped away from the scene.
The little boy was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, including brain trauma and a fractured skull.
His parents were not seriously injured, but Lennox is expected to remain in the hospital for at least another nine days.
"I explained to him what happened," said Benjamin Lake, the boy's father. "He asked 'why am I so jacked up?' I told him he's going to get better and we're going to go home soon."
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The suspect in the crash, Constantino Banda-Acosta, 38, was taken into custody about a mile from the accident scene by Border Patrol agents.
He is facing charges of DUI, hit-and-run and driving without a license. If convicted he could face almost eight years in prison.
Immigration officials say Banda-Acosta had been deported to Mexico 15 times since 2002, most recently in January of this year.
He also has a criminal record that includes two arrests on domestic violence charges and convictions for driving with a suspended license and DUI.