Boy, 8, survives after SUV slams into him in Grand Terrace hit-and-run crash

GRAND TERRACE, Calif. (KABC) -- An 8-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after an SUV plowed into him as he was walking along a crosswalk on his way to school in Grand Terrace. The driver fled the scene.

Misty Bazurto witnessed the hit-and-run crash shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday. She said she saw little Michael Thomas getting struck by a car, and the image is something she will never be able to erase from her mind.

"It was wrong. It could have been one of our kids. It could have been one of our babies, and thank god he's OK, he's alright," Bazurto said, wiping away tears.

Bazurto said the female driver did not stop after hitting Michael.

"Michael flew about 10 feet. He flipped," Bazurto described.

Michael says he was walking to school. The light turned green, and he was about to cross the street on the sidewalk at Barton Road and Michigan Avenue.

"A green car passed by, so I let the green car go. I started walking across the street, and then the car hit me," he said.

Michael went to the hospital, but fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

He says he believes the person who hit him knows it happened, because she looked right at him. He says after the driver hit him with her car, she covered her mouth with her hand and drew in a deep breath in shock.

"I think that was horrible. I mean if you hit a kid, you at least stop," Bazurto said.

The suspect description is not very detailed. Michael's mom Mona Thomas says the driver is an older woman with light skin and dark hair.

What scared her the most is how close her son came to losing his life.

"He's 70 pounds, so imagine an SUV hitting a 70-pound small person," she said.

The Grand Terrace city manager provided an image of the suspect's car pulled from a surveillance camera in the area. The car is a black crossover SUV with four doors and a pink cover on the steering wheel.

If you recognize the vehicle, you're urged to contact law enforcement.