WASHINGTON — Earlier this month, 14-year-old Fernando Alvarez was on his way to school, walking his bike through a crosswalk near Seneca Valley High School when it happened: the Germantown teen was hit by a minivan.
The incident happened at about 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 6 at the intersection of Wisteria Drive and Great Seneca Highway.
The high school freshman’s father, also named Fernando, told reporters the driver struck his son, glanced at him, and then drove off.
If he could talk to the driver face to face, the older Alvarez said he would tell the driver, “You made a mistake. You should pay for it. We are just lucky that you didn’t kill our son. Please come forward.”
The older Alvarez says his son was injured, but now is “OK,” although too scared to get back on a bike.
“He’s OK, he’s back at school now, but still very scared that it’s going to happen again,” he says.
Alvarez says he and his family now bring their son to school and pick him up at the end of the day.
“We don’t want to lose our child.”
Montgomery County police say the case is still under investigation. Captain Paul Starks says police want to talk to the driver.
“We are not assigning blame — at this point we need to hear from the driver and any other witnesses,” Starks says.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
