Zach Michaels remains unconscious in hospital following the hit and run
Zach Michaels was seriously injured when he was hit by a Honda Civic on December 22 (Image: Maria Michaels)
Police have appealed to a driver to do “the right thing” after a schoolboy was “left for dead”. Zach Michaels, 15, was riding his bike home from his friend’s house on Sunday, December 22, at around 6.25pm on Bracknell Avenue outside Kirkby High School when he was hit by a car.
Merseyside Police said the grey Honda Civic failed to stop at the scene. Zach was left with “catastrophic injuries”, including having his right leg amputated from above his knee. The teenager remains in hospital in a critical condition.
The car, which displayed a 70 plate, failed to stop following the crash and is believed to have made off in the general direction of Bewley Drive and then towards Valley Road. Enquiries remain ongoing to locate the car and the driver involved, police said.
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Zach’s mum, Maria Daniels, added how her son has had seven operations in seven days. She said: “The bypasses failed so the leg is dying and if they leave it it’s too dangerous for the rest of his body. He’s been unconscious throughout and has no idea. He was just riding his bike home from his mate’s home.”
The list of injuries Zach suffered from the crash includes multiple open fractures to his right leg and a defining injury to his right calf, multiple open fractures to his right upper arm, elbow and wrist with severe tendon damage, multiple open fractures to his left arm and wrist, multiple fractures to his pelvis and fractured vertebrae which were found after later scans at the hospital.
The teen is also wearing a neck brace due to ligament damage in his neck and has also suffered a punctured lung. Since the crash, Zach’s aunty has organised a JustGiving page to help the immediate family of Zach and described how her nephew was “left for dead” after the crash. For more information or to donate, click here.
An image of a grey Honda Civic
Detective Sergeant Simon Duffy from our Matrix Serious Collision Investigation Unit appealed to the driver to think about Zach’s family and to come forward. Merseyside Police has also issued pictures of a grey Honda Civic.
In a statement, he said: “This was a shocking incident which has left a teenage boy with injuries which will impact him for the rest of his life. It is incomprehensible to think that anyone could even consider driving away and leaving the boy with such catastrophic injuries.
“We remain committed to tracking that person down and anyone who may have assisted following the collision. Our enquiries remain ongoing, and I would make an appeal directly to the driver of the car to consider the feelings of the boy and his family and come forward before we locate you.
An image of a grey Honda Civic(Image: Merseyside Police )
“We are also asking for anyone who was in the Southdene and Westvale areas of Kirkby between 6.00pm and 7.15pm on Sunday, December 22 and has dashcam to contact us so that we can review and assess their footage. The vehicle – a grey Honda Civic with a 70 plate – is likely to have significant damage to the front following the collision.
“We believe the vehicle was in the Sefton and Kirkby areas for at least one week prior to the collision so we would again appeal for anyone who has seen a vehicle like that in the image, to contact us as a matter of urgency. I would also ask the local community to consider the victim, his family and the risk posed by such a dangerous driver, and if you have any information at all regarding this incident, then please work with us to help identify those responsible for this crime. ”
If you have any information that can help, please contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on (0151) 777 5747, or email SCIU@merseyside.police.uk. Alternatively, you can tell police anonymously via @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111, quoting reference 24001073245.