Man, 73, critical after hit and run in Poinciana
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - A 73-year-old man is struggling for his life after being struck in a hit and run. His family says they found out he had been in the hospital one week later because he had no identification on him.
Charles Givens is on life support after authorities say someone hit him with a car, then took off. His daughter, Dionne, says he has a broken collar bone and bleeding of the brain, as well as other injuries.
"His spine is injured all the way down. He has a broken elbow, a shattered elbow. And he has a broken ankle and broken ribs."
Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol say a driver in a silver passenger car struck Givens in a crosswalk on Marigold and San Remo Road in Poinciana, just after 10 p.m. on August 7.
"Thank goodness there were witnesses there to get him help quickly so he could survive," says FHP Lt. Kim Montes.
But Givens was taken to the hospital as a "John Doe," because he had no identification on him. Dionne says the family wasn’t aware that her father was even injured, because she says he often goes away, but later comes back. She says the hospital called her family.
"It was seven days before we found out he was even in there so there needs to be better communication."
We asked Lt, Montes if there needed to be better communication between hospitals and law enforcement.
"So we have had some issues ourselves going into hospitals. We’ve only seen this problem lately. A lot of people again are not carrying ID with them, that would solve the problem," she responds.
Dionne is grateful to Osceola Regional for identifying him.
"They did like a fingerprint on him and they found out who he was."
She says since her father had a previous jail record, they were able to match up to his fingerprints.
Osceola Regional released this statement, which read, "As the only Trauma Center Level II in Osceola County, Osceola Regional Medical Center receives patients who arrive without any identification found at the scene of the accident. In these cases, we work closely with law enforcement to not only identify our patients but to reach out to their families".
Florida State Senator Jason Brodeur told us back in May that he's working on hospital regulations when it comes to handling John Doe cases and identifying patients. We are waiting for an update from him.
Dionne says her father is a loving and outgoing person, who didn’t deserve this. She prays he gets better and they find the driver.
"He’s my dad and you only get one dad. So I just want somebody to find out who did this."
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
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