San Tan Valley hit-and-run leaves boy on ventilator

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. - Tyra Turner’s son Ethan, 11, was riding his push scooter in their San Tan Valley neighborhood early Monday evening.

What they're saying:

"It's not a busy road. Speed limit is 35," Turner said.

But as he was crossing the street, she says a truck hit him, then left the scene.

The driver "barreled into him without pushing on his brakes and then just continued to drive," Turner said. "So he basically left my child there to die."

By the time Turner got there, he was already in an ambulance. She recalled hearing "blood-curdling screams you never want to hear your child make, ever."

Ethan was airlifted to Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa with serious injuries including a concussion, a broken femur, and lung damage, with medical staff putting him on a ventilator.

"Yesterday was the first time I got to see any signs of Ethan in there. He was able to give me a slight nod and squeeze my hand ... He's not been able to say anything to me since Monday," Turner said.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office says it used license plate cameras to track down the driver, 46-year-old Glenn Noordhof. He was booked on suspicion of leaving the scene of a crash that caused injuries.

"If you hit a dog ... people stop. You know, the fact that you hit a child, my child, and then left him on the road ... I am extremely angry," Turner said.

Dig deeper:

While doctors say Ethan will pull through, recovery won’t be easy.

"It’s going to be a long process. We won’t be leaving this hospital anytime soon," Turner said.

Turner says whatever the legal outcome, it won't take away her son's pain.

"It's my child and my child is going to suffer. And this is traumatic. He's gonna have to live with this for the rest of his life," she said.

Turner says Ethan has developed pneumonia and may have more surgeries ahead, but this has not broken his spirit.

What you can do:

Friends have organized a GoFundMe to help the family with medical expenses.