Irving police are asking for help catching a hit-and-run driver.
Ronald Ellis, an 18-year-old high school senior, is in serious condition after being hit by a large vehicle last Saturday at about 2 p.m.
Ellis was struck in the eastbound lanes of the Frontage Road of Airport Freeway near Regal Ridge Parkway. He was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition.
Since then, his condition has improved to serious but stable.
Irving police are looking for a 2002-2006 oversized Ford van.
Public Information Officer John Argumaniz said it may be similar to what an airport shuttle would look like, or what a hotel would use to transport people from one location to the other.
"We're asking that anyone who may own a business or a body shop or conduct any repair work to vehicles, to make note of any large passenger vans that are brought into the shop and particularly need attention to the passenger side rearview mirror," he said.
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Ellis' father, Ronald Ellis Sr., said the driver needs to be held responsible for such a reckless act.
"You leave a human being laying on the street, and you don't stop. I think that person needs to be put in jail," he said.
The teen's mother, Tippy Quillopo, said it's been difficult to see her son at the hospital.
"He has a breathing tube, a feeding tube, a brain probe, and a halo," she said.
Just moments after Ellis was hit, a couple of good Samaritans stopped and called 911.
Sandra Aguilar said she and her husband couldn't believe what they saw and prayed over Ellis until emergency responders arrived.
"He was trying to breathe and making noises. And then immediately after that the noises stopped," she said.
Argumaniz said a similar hit-and-run happened in a same area just a few months ago, killing the pedestrian.
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run is being urged to contact the Irving Police Department at 972-273-1010.
