A 15-year-old Orange County student was in a medically-induced coma Monday after a driver struck him as police say the teen followed all the rules - riding in the bike lane while wearing a helmet.
The Savanna High School student, Ramiro Macias, was struck before 11 p.m. on Sunday in the area of Ball Road and Brookhurst Street in Anaheim, police said.
Witnesses told police the driver of the mid-2000s gray Dodge Caravan was driving erratically.
The minivan struck Macias and then kept going, Anaheim police said.
"People need to understand an accident is an accident, but when you flee the scene...it now becomes a crime," Sgt. Daron Wyatt said.
Macias was stable but critical in a medically-induced coma.
"When it happens to someone who's such a fantastic kid, it breaks your heart," Brian Belski, the Savannah High School's band director, said.
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Macias plays the bass clarinet for the Savanna High Rebel marching band.
Belski said Macias is the conscientious type - the kind of student who is the first to show up and the last to leave practice.
The teen's family is with him at UCI Medical Center waiting and hoping he will be able to play in the band again.
