FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - In pain and wearing bandages, Andrea Alston-Smith took the time to tell 7News about her experience after she was injured in a hit-and-run in Fort Lauderdale.
She can’t walk, and she can barely move, but Alston-Smith was able to describe her injuries. “I bruised my left arm — there is cuts and bruises, I’m all bruised up here. Everything hurts from my neck, my back,” she said.
Alston-Smith said she is now getting spasms down her leg and arm. However, she still considers herself lucky. “I’m lucky to be alive,” she said. “To go across I-95 on a busy Friday night and directly into a concrete medium, I’m lucky to even be here.”
A white sedan or SUV rear-ended Alston-Smith as she headed south in her black Mazda 3 on I-95, last Friday, at around 8:30 p.m. She was just south of Broward Boulevard.
“He hit her from behind, crushed the rear axle into the car,” said Robert Schneider, Alston-Smith’s boyfriend. “At that point, he had to have damage on his car for sure. He took off.”
Alston-Smith went across three lanes of traffic and hit the medium, causing airbags to deploy.
“The airbag deployed?” Schneider said. “A car took the punishment. She got beat up, but she’s still here.”
A good Samaritan came to assist Alston-Smith and told her to shut off everything immediately. “He stayed with me until the police came, so whoever he is, I really appreciate you stopping and helping me and staying with me,” Alston-Smith said.
Alston-Smith is now pleading with the public to help find the driver who hit her and didn’t even bother to stop.
“Somebody out there must know who it is, or maybe the person who did it can grow a conscience and step forward,” she said.
To make matters worse, Alston-Smith has fallen on hard times. “I’m currently not working. I don’t even know how I could afford another car. I’m totally freaked out, at this point in time,” she said.
If you have any information on this hit-and-run, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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