OWATONNA, Minn. — A Minnesota toddler is on the mend after he was hit by a driver who left the scene.
A truck hit 22-month-old Anastasia Westphall as she crossed the road with her family last week.
With tears streaming down her face, Aileen Westphall recalls how a typical walk through the intersection of Rose Street and Oak Avenue in Owatonna quickly turned into a nightmare.
“I just saw my friend holding my daughter and yelling at the man to stop, stop and he didn’t,” Westphall said.
The driver hit her friend Carly Simmons and her daughter Anastasia Westphall and continued driving.
“When I picked her up, she was limp, she wasn’t doing anything, she was pale,” Westphall recalled.
Anastasia was flown to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. She spent days at the Mayo Clinic healing from serious injuries, including internal bleeding and fractures in her pelvic area.
A 36-year-old man is charged with one misdemeanor and two misdemeanors in connection with this collision. He must appear in court again in July.
According to the charging documents, investigators were able to identify the driver’s car using CCTV footage from local businesses before arriving at a gas station and purchasing a luxury car wash about 10 minutes after the incident.
The driver was arrested the next day and told police he did not know he had hit anyone but thought trash was being thrown at his vehicle. We contacted the man’s attorney for comment, but he declined an interview.
Westphall disagrees with his claim and says he saw her family crossing the street.
For now, it’s all about Anastasia feeling comfortable in her brace as she pushes for safer streets.
“I hope the city takes it seriously and makes it safer for people to cross and walk,” Westphall said. She would also like to see the intersection become a four-way stop with lights to ensure no one else gets hurt.
A fundraising campaign has been set up to alleviate some of the financial burden during this period.
