"It was devastating:" Mom pleads for justice after son badly hurt in crash

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A woman whose son was badly injured in a car accident is pleading for the other driver involved to do the right thing, and turn themselves in.

Laurie Pena says her son, 21-year-old Joseph Pham, had just finished his shift at work and was driving a friend home when a car careened into his lane. Her son lost control and crashed into a light pole. She says the other driver did not stop at the scene.

"They kept going," said Pena. "They did not stop to render aid to see if my son was ok."

Pham is now in critical condition and according to his mother, his heart stopped beating twice since the wreck that landed him in the hospital.

"It was devastating," said Pena. "It really was to see my son like that. It really was."

Whoever is to blame, Pham's mother says, should be punished.

"Anybody that does that, they need to stop because my son nearly died twice because of this person," said Pena.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

Pham told investigators the other vehicle was a dark gray Scion.

Pena has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical expenses.

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