Matthew Lawrence’s family is now looking for answers after they said the 8-year-old was hit while biking home from school last Thursday.
Matthew attends Duval Charter School on 103rd St. on the Westside. He bikes home along Lambing Rd. because his mom says they live too close for the school bus. “Who would just leave somebody’s child on the side of the road with no help at all?” Shakoiya Lawrence asked Action News Jax’s Robert Grant. “I want justice for my child to figure out why.”Matthew said he remembers a white sedan hit him on the right side of the car. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is now investigating.
Action News Jax asked if officers are looking for the suspect vehicle, but so far, we have not heard back. Shakoiya said she has gone door to door looking for answers. Neighbors said there has been other hit-and-runs in the past and most are unsolved.According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, fatal hit-and-runs are up 18% statewide from 2020 to 2021.“It’s not okay,” Matthew’s godmother, Nakita Johnson, said. “Accidents happen all the time. I get it. But to leave a child? To leave anybody just there? It’s not okay.