A mother is asking for the public’s help in identifying the hit-and-run driver who left her son with injuries from which doctors say he will likely never recover.
Luis Varela, 29, was hit on Nov. 11 while walking along a marked crosswalk on Wilshire Boulevard at Park View Street in Los Angeles’ Westlake neighborhood. He was left comatose and only came out of the coma in recent days, his mother, Alma Varela, said.
“He’s in very bad shape. He doesn’t speak. He just moves his mouth. He doesn’t open his eyes. He’s not well,” a grief-stricken Ama Varela said Thursday.
She added that doctors told her her son will likely never recover.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
His mother said Luis Varela had come to the U.S. eight years ago from Guatemala and worked in construction. Detectives don’t have many clues as to who hit him, other than a witness describing the driver's vehicle as a dark gray SUV.
Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Those with information are asked to call detective Juan Campos at 213-486-0755 or email 31480@LAPD.online.
