JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 22-year-old Jacksonville woman is on a long road to recovery after a hit-and-run crash sent her to the hospital in critical condition.
“I’m doing great, and it’s only getting greater,” said Jada Simpson, who was no longer sedated and sounded upbeat and positive about her recovery when she spoke with News4Jax on Monday.
On Thursday night, Simpson was crossing Cesery Boulevard near Ashite Street when she was struck by a dark-colored SUV. Simpson said it was dark and she recalls seeing the headlights of two vehicles.
“One coming and one was going the other way. And I remember looking down and realizing I’m in the middle of the street. There was no middle lane,” she recounted. “I was about to get hit.”
A witness who stopped to help Simpson said the driver of the SUV stopped to inspect the damage to his vehicle and then drove off.
Simpson said she doesn’t remember much after she was hit, including the good Samaritan who stopped to help her.
After the collision, Simpson was rushed to Memorial Hospital. She was in critical condition with a lacerated liver, broken leg, fractured tailbone and scarring down one side of her body.
“I am an emotional wreck right now. I’m up and down as any mother would be. I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m frustrated,” Simpson’s mother, Cyntoria, told News4Jax the night following the crash.
Simpson’s mother is still upset and wants justice for her daughter, but Simpson said she has forgiven the driver of the SUV.
“I already said I forgive him,” she said. “Even if he doesn’t turn himself in, I already forgave him.”
According to doctors at Memorial Hospital, the young woman’s recovery will take up to eight months. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with recovery expenses.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact police.