MBA student from Pakistan left in bad shape after hit-and-run near Galleria: 'My life is finished'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Dania Zaheer has a broken pelvis, hip, arm, femur, and countless other bones after the Houston Police Department said a driver hit her near the Galleria and then took off.

Speaking to Eyewitness News from the hospital, Zaheer said her injuries might not be the worst of it. The 25-year-old said she moved to Houston from Pakistan on a student visa, hoping to graduate with a master's degree in business administration from North American University.

However, she's in Texas alone, with no family or other supporting figures. Now, even once the hospital discharges her, she's left facing uncertainty.

"I had a really bright future, and now, I can't see anything," Zaheer said with cuts and fractures obscuring her vision. "My university professors - when they met me, (they) even told me, 'You are the kind of person we want to hire.'"

Zaheer has been in the city on her own since the start of the semester. She said last Thursday, she was crossing the street at Westheimer and Sage at about 8 p.m. when her memory went black. According to HPD, a person behind the wheel of a vehicle hit her and drove off.

"He didn't even stop to see who he hit or if that person was alive or not," Zaheer said, even though investigators didn't say whether the driver was male.

Police said they have a witness and were searching for video in the area, but investigators didn't have a vehicle or suspect description.

Emergency responders rushed Zaheer to Memorial Hermann, where she's been ever since. Doctors said she suffered at least half a dozen broken bones.

"There is fluid in my lungs, which is making it hard to breathe," Zaheer said, adding that she's a shell of the woman she once was. "I don't understand the point of being alive anymore. [...] My life is finished. There is nothing left for me."

Zaheer said her parents don't have the money to travel here, and the whole point of her coming to Houston was to give them a better life.

"I am all alone here. There's no one to take care of me, and I don't even know after getting out of the hospital who will be there," she said.

ABC13 shared Zaheer's story with the Pakistani Association of Greater Houston, which wants to help. She and the association's president have connected.

The hope is to set up a fund and connect Zaheer with local resources.

STORY UPDATE: Support pours in for MBA student hospitalized after hit-and-run

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