DEARBORN, Mich. – The teenage driver who hit and severely injured a girl walking to school in Dearborn has been sentenced to one year in prison, followed by three years of probation.
Additionally, he is banned from driving for one year after his release.
Crash details
The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. Dec. 20, 2024, in the area of Ford and Schaefer roads in Dearborn.
Police said a Fordson High School student was walking to school on the last day before Christmas break. She was ready to cross the street at a crosswalk with her sister when the light turned red for oncoming traffic.
The walk light was on, and the 15-year-old girl was struck by a black Jeep Cherokee the moment she stepped onto Ford Road, according to authorities.
Witnesses and police said the driver, later identified as Mahdi Bitar, ran the red light while heading west in the Cherokee.
The girl was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. She would end up spending months in the hospital.
Lawyers for the victim’s family said it’s “extremely unlikely she will ever get back to 100%.”
19-year-old charged
Bitar, 19, was charged Jan. 10 with reckless driving causing serious impairment.
At the time, the 15-year-old girl was still in the hospital in critical condition.
When they announced charges, officials said Bitar’s Jeep had illegal window tint on the windshield that causes obscured vision.