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Car wanted in connection to hit-and-run
Car wanted in connection to hit-and-run
EUSTIS, Fla. - A Eustis woman is still fighting for her life after a hit-and-run driver left her for dead in the street. A school bus driver saw her in the road and used her bus to block off traffic.
It happened near the intersection of West Lakeview Avenue and Morin Street last week. That bus driver, Stacey Hatcher, is being deemed a hero after her quick thinking to make sure the victim, Abigail Michelle Stevens, wasn’t hit again in the busy and dark intersection.
"I believe I was God’s sent angel, chosen vessel, to save her life," Hatcher told FOX 35 News.
Hatcher was driving back from a field trip when she debated which road to take. She normally doesn’t work on Mondays, and she normally doesn’t drive on Lakeview Avenue.
But on Oct. 23, she said she felt like God was telling her to take a different route back home.
"I normally make a left on Bay Street," said Hatcher.
When she drove straight, she saw a dark figure on the road. She thought maybe it was a Halloween prank. But when she got closer, she realized it was not a doll or an animal.
"So when I brightened my lights, there was a body, Abigail," Hatcher said.
She immediately pulled her bus over blocking off traffic and called 911. When the operator asked her if the person was alive, someone at the scene told her it was Abigail Stevens.
"I said, ‘Abigail?’" said Hatcher. "And she immediately screeched like, you know, a little move. That's when I knew she was alive."
Photo: Savannah Stevens
Hatcher said what she saw has haunted her, and driving near the street makes her sick to her stomach, even making it hard to sleep at night. But she is thankful she found Abigail and could help save her from being hit again.
She calls it a divine intervention.
"I love God and I serve Him, and I'm glad He chose me. He thought enough of me to be the one to save Abigail’s life," said Hatcher.
Now she hopes the person responsible will come forward, a sentiment she shares with Abigail’s grandmother Cathy Stevens.
"Please turn yourself in, my baby is fighting for her life," said Stevens.
"I just hope that they will turn myself in soon so we can get some closure for Abigail and her family, and me as well," said Hatcher.
She said she talked with Cathy on the phone Tuesday, who said Abigail is still fighting for her life – and her chances of surviving are 50/50.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with medical bills.
Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for a white "passenger vehicle" believed to have been involved in the hit-and-run. According to the Eustis Police Department, the suspect vehicle is an older model white passenger car with a black body molding strip across the front and rear passenger doors, and little-to-no tint on the windows.
Police say there is no new update or new leads. They say the driver was in a white car.
If you know anything, call Eustis Police at (352) 357-4121.