Teen hurt in hit-and-run while walking to school bus stop, mom says

14-year-old believes truck's sideview mirror hit her from behind

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – A Clay County mother wants answers after she said her daughter was hit by a truck while walking to the school bus stop.

According to Michelle West, the driver of a truck took off after hitting her 14-year-old daughter, Marilyn Burris, as the teen walked to the school bus stop on Cosmos Avenue in Middleburg.

"I have bruises and cuts on my thigh and my ankle. I think it’s fractured. I don’t know. I can’t put weight on it, or a lot of weight on it. My arm right here is bruised and I have a big gash in the back of my head that I got 13 staples," Burris told News4Jax. 

Burris said she believes the truck's sideview mirror hit her from behind as she was walking in the grassy area on the shoulder of the road.

"I felt something hit me and then I hit the ground and I was shaking and then I felt like I blacked out, but I woke up in the ditch face down. I saw the truck pull off of Cosmos [Avenue]," Burris said. "I knew what color the truck was and I couldn’t tell you anything else."

As she struggled to get up, Burris said she managed to hobble home and get help.

"When I got here, she was covered in blood, shaking, a huge gash in the back of her head," West said.

Marilyn Burris' injuries

Detectives believe the driver was in a 2011 to 2016 white Ford F-250. 

The incident has left more than physical bruising for the teen.

"I definitely have anxiety if I had to walk back to the bus stop just because I was in the grass. There was no reason," Burris said. "If I was on the road, it would be my fault. But I was in the grass, so it’s really nerve-racking."

Burris and her mother said they hope the driver of the truck will turn themselves in. West said she hopes the tragedy will remind drivers to watch out for children in the mornings and afternoons when they’re walking to and from the bus stop.

At this time, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has not publicly named the driver or said if he has been arrested or charged.


About the Author:

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.