TAMPA, Fla. — A mom reached out to ABC Action News, desperate for help finding the driver who left her son fighting for his life; what happened next led to police arresting a Lyft driver.
On the morning after Thanksgiving, 24-year-old Adrian Caldwell was riding his e-bike on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard by Myrtle Hill Memorial Park when Tampa police said he was hit by a hit-and-run driver.
“Why did you leave him?" Amanda Stigers, Caldwell's mother, said of the driver. "He’s someone’s son and father, and you just left him. If nobody else would have come along, he would have been dead.”
Stigers said she found out her son was hit because he didn't show up to work. The young dad of two was rushed to this hospital. His family said he suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed multiple surgeries.
“We have to remind him every day what happened because he doesn’t remember," Stigers added.
When asked what the Tampa Police Department has told her about the case, Stigers answered, “They haven’t told me nothing.”
ABC Action News asked Tampa police about the case. A spokeswoman for TPD said, "There was no surveillance footage, witnesses, or vehicle debris left on scene."
ABC Action News requested body camera video from the responding officer, but the department said the recording couldn't be released because the investigation was ongoing.
However, days later, police reviewed the evidence and said, "a strong lead was developed.”
Police arrested 27-year-old Lyft driver Taniesha Ashley. She was charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury.
ABC Action News checked court records and found Ashley has multiple driving citations and charges dating back to 2015, including failing to stop at a red light and driving with a suspended license.
Ashley is out of jail on bond.
A Lyft spokesperson sent ABC Action News the following statement: "Our thoughts are with Mr. Caldwell and his family, and we wish him a full recovery. Though the driver involved was not using the Lyft platform when this tragic incident occurred, we have permanently removed her from the Lyft community."
Caldwell made it home from the hospital for Christmas, but his mom said he faces more surgeries and still struggles to remember why his life changed.
“He has to have 24-hour care," Stiger said. “How do you tell your son that you’re my world, but somebody else left you on the side of the road? How do you tell a kid that?"
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.