Thousand Oaks High School employee critically injured after being run over by teenager

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (KABC) -- Thousand Oaks students felt the absence of a popular staff member Monday, who is in critical condition after being run over by a teenager.

Lisa Solis, an activities assistant at Thousand Oaks High School, worked closely with seniors to help them prepare for graduation.

"She did a lot for us. It's going to be hard for a lot of the seniors to not have her this year," one student said. "When I found out it was her, I was like it really sucks, because she was always a helpful hand here."

The 50-year-old wife and mother was run over by a 16-year-old student from another school Friday night. Authorities said the teen had stolen money from a concession stand. Solis stood in front of his vehicle in an attempt to stop him from getting away.

"It's really tragic - the injuries that happened and this bad decision that the kid made," said Doug Ridley, law professor at UCLA.

Authorities arrested the teen, but are not releasing his identity because he is underage. Ridley explained that it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether to try the boy in juvenile court or as an adult, which could lead to prison time.

"They'll look to see whether he's had trouble at school, they'll look to see how his grades are, they'll look to see what his home situation is like. When they're trying to figure out how best to rehabilitate a juvenile, those are the things that they look at. In adult court, they're looking to punish someone for what they did," Ridley said.

A GoFundMe page has been created for Solis and her family. It's already surpassed its fundraising goal.

Students weighed the teen's actions.

"I don't care if it was just to act cool in front of your friends, it's like that shouldn't happen," one student said.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District superintendent released a statement saying the district is heartbroken that a family member is suffering from life-threatening injuries. The statement also asked the public to keep Solis' family in their thoughts and prayers.