Girl, 11, suffers fractured nose, missing teeth in Philadelphia hit-and-run

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- An 11-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after being injured in a hit-and-run on Wednesday afternoon.

The crash left Nylah Johnson with various injuries, including a fractured nose, missing teeth, gashes and bruises.

While she recovers from her injuries, her loved ones are begging the driver responsible to come forward.

"How can you sleep at night, keep riding in your car, and you know you did this to her?" said the 11-year-old's mother, Jabria Johnson. "I'd never seen my daughter like that, nothing that I could do, like her face, her teeth. Like somebody just left her in the street like an animal."

Jabria Johnson says her daughter was on her way home and in the process of switching buses when she was hit.

It happened around 4:05 p.m., right in front of the Erie-Torresdale Station on Kensington Avenue in Juniata Park.

Witnesses tell police a black Jeep Cherokee hit the little girl and kept going.

"He ran her over, literally kept going, and that was crazy. He was very aware that he hit her," said Lia Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was one of many who rushed to help the little girl.

"She had a lot of support. I stood to the very end until the ambulance pulled off. I had to make sure she was OK," said Gonzalez. "It was a nightmare actually seeing it, because you never want to see a kid get hurt. When you actually see it, it was really traumatizing."

Nylah is scheduled for multiple surgeries. Her mother says it could be weeks before she returns to school.

"She said, 'Grandmom, I was flying.' She said, 'Grandma, I thought I died.' But she's strong. She's strong and going to be OK," said Nylah's grandmother, Naketa Mullins.

Investigators say the black Jeep was last seen traveling northbound on O Street.

Anyone with information is asked to call or text Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit an anonymous tip online.