Family of teen injured in hit-and-run asks driver to 'repent'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Police are looking for the driver who hit a 13-year-old girl and fled the scene.

The family of London Banks is asking for prayers. They held a prayer rally Saturday morning at Rhema Word of Life Church.

"I feel hurt," said the teen's grandmother, Ruthie Hudson. "I feel violated. I think it's ridiculous."

Her mother, Shandra Mosley-Banks, says London and her brother were walking back from a convenience store. They went to get soda and ice cream.

Her son told her he saw the car speeding down Ella Boulevard, and before he knew it, his sister was hit.

"Before he could, like, scream her name, she turned and the car was right up on her," said Mosley-Banks. "It hit her and threw her up in the air over 40 feet up in the air. She did multiple flips and landed across the street. This is horrible that we've come to a time where people don't value life. Especially to do this to an innocent child is outrageous."

Harris County deputies say the driver of a dark-colored convertible with tinted windows was driving southbound on Ella Boulevard when he or she hit the seventh-grader. The driver then took off after the crash.

"If you struck the girl, please contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office Traffic Division and let's get this taken care of," said Sgt. Michael LeCompte Wednesday night.

Mosley-Banks said her daughter, a die-hard Houston Astros fan who dreams of becoming a doctor, suffered serious head injuries, fractures in her nose, road rash, and remains heavily sedated.

London was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital by LifeFlight after the crash Wednesday night.

Her family is asking the community to lift her daughter up in prayer as they hope for a miraculous recovery.

"My faith keeps me solid," said Hudson. "It keeps me grounded. I am furious, but I trust in a higher power, and I know he's going to work it all out, because I know he's going to bring London through. He's going to bring her through. I know he is."

Meanwhile, deputies continue their investigation, and say the driver could face charges of failure to stop and render aid.

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