EUSTIS, Fla. – Eustis police are searching for a sports utility vehicle involved in a hit-and-run that struck a 4-year-old boy and dragged him down the road Wednesday afternoon.
Police said the crash occurred at Wall Street and Selleen Drive at around 3:30 p.m.
"Very energetic, very happy little boy, just loves to play," said Selma Bentley, the victim's grandmother.
Family members said the boy, Jaheim Golden, was on the sidewalk when the SUV clipped the corner, taking the boy with it.
"'Grandmomma, I'm going to get my bike,' and the the next thing, I looked out the window he's up underneath the car," said Jaheim's great-grandmother Helen Golden.
Dwayne Mcleod heard screaming and squealing of tires, so he ran outside and said he found the boy nearly underneath the SUV.
"I picked him up and I said, 'Where you hurt at, where you hurt at?" said Dwayne Mcleod.
Mcleod said the driver also stopped.
"And the guy got out the truck like he was going to stay there, and I had to console him (Jaheim), and then he took off," Mcleod said.
The SUV was described by police as a dark-colored, small-sized SUV with a noticeable amount of chrome on it.
"I don't know what kind of heart a person could have to hit a child and ride off and leave him," Bentley said.
Family members said they credit the tricycle's handle bars for saving the little boy.
"The top of the Big Wheel kept him elevated from getting under the vehicle," Bentley said.
The child was taken to Arnold Palmer hospital and is expected to be OK.
Contact the Eustis Police Department at 352-357-4121 if you have any information.