Woman hospitalized after hit-and-run crash on Blanding Boulevard

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A pistillate remained hospitalized Tuesday aft she was injured successful a hit-and-run clang past week connected Blanding Boulevard astatine Belmont Boulevard.

Monica Dimaio, 39, told News4Jax that she broke her genu and fractured her hep and aggregate vertebrae successful her back.

Dimaio, who’s astatine Orange Park Medical Center, said she’s expecting to person to spell done intensive rehab for her injuries. She said she doesn’t person security and aesculapian bills are already stacking up. The Florida Highway Patrol primitively said the pistillate was recovering astatine home.

“It could person been truthful overmuch worse. I’m precise fortunate I wasn’t killed, I’m not paralyzed,” Dimaio said.

Early Friday morning, according to troopers, a operator ran a reddish light, and the conveyance struck the pistillate portion she was crossing the roadworthy wrong the crosswalk. Dimaio told News4Jax that she was walking to the 7-Eleven to get a Gatorade erstwhile it happened. She said she remembers seeing headlights and, aft that, she couldn’t determination and was screaming due to the fact that she was acrophobic she would get deed by different car.

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“I saw the headlights arsenic I was crossing, conscionable arsenic the car was hitting me,” Dimaio said. “I didn’t truly person overmuch clip to react.”

According to FHP, the conveyance progressive was a achromatic 2016-2021 Chevrolet Cruze that should person insignificant to mean harm to the close beforehand and close side. The Highway Patrol said the operator perchance works successful the nutrient manufacture oregon transportation business.

“Even though I ended up with breached bones, they’re fixable. All of the injuries yet I volition heal from,” Dimaio said.

FHP released some surveillance images, arsenic good arsenic video that was recorded by a red-light camera. (Editor’s note: This video whitethorn beryllium hard to watch, but it’s a portion of grounds that could assistance investigators ace the case.)

According to FHP reports, determination person been adjacent to 500 hit-and-runs successful Clay County truthful acold this year, much than 50 of which person resulted successful idiosyncratic getting hurt. Two of them person been fatal.

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Anyone with accusation astir Friday’s clang is asked to interaction the Highway Patrol by calling *FHP (*347).

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