Lubbock Teen Struggles To Recover From Hit-And-Run Accident Injuries

A brave and determined Lubbock teen is on the long road to recovery after a hit-and-run pedestrian accident left him with severe injuries in January.

His family told reporters that 19-year-old Ashton Cerka was crossing 19th Street in Lubbock when he was struck by a car that immediately left the scene of the accident. Cerka was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and sustained a traumatic brain injury, body trauma, and a shattered leg.

Today, three months after the accident, Cerka has been transferred to the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas where he receives about three hours of physical therapy and occupational therapy each day. He communicates with hand signals as his brain heals and is learning to walk again. His parents say that while he is sometimes frustrated with the slow recovery, he is keeping strong and fighting.

The man who hit Cerka, 28-year-old Christopher Thomas, turned himself in shortly after the accident took place. He was found guilty of failure to stop and render aid this week.