Parents of OC Teen Offer Reward to Find Hit-and-Run Driver

The teen underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his spine after the crash, his parents say

Parents of an Orange County teenager who was seriously hurt in a hit-and-run announced Wednesday they are offering a reward to help find the person behind the wheel.

Stephen Cureton, 17, was walking with a friend near Yorktown Avenue and Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach about 8:30 p.m. Monday when he was struck by a car and thrown 40 feet, his parents said.

"To launch his body about 40 feet, have him hit the pavement at the impact that it did and then just leave him there ... I am just appalled that someone would consider my son disposable," said the teen's mother, Victoria Cureton.

Stephen's parents said the teen had stepped off the curb and looked down at a drink in his hand just before being hit.

Huntington Beach police describe the incident with different details than Stephen's parents. Officials said the teen was riding a skateboard when he was struck.

Stephen underwent surgery at UC Irvine Medical Center to remove a blood clot in his spinal cord, his parents said. A graphic photo reveals lacerations and bruises to his face.

The teen's parents released the picture to show just how badly hurt their son is, and to explain why they are so desperate to find the driver who may have been in a dark sports car. They are offering a $500 reward to encourage anyone with information to come forward.

"It doesn't sit well with me," the teen's father Scott Cureton said. "You have that piece inside of you that is just raging to find out who this person is, and to find the justice and make sure the justice sits."

Huntington Beach police are asking for witnesses to call the department at 714-960-8843 with any information in the hit-and-run crash.
 

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