On Monday night, February 10th, a young man got hit by a car after he alighted from a bus in Concord, Contra Costa, California. Authorities have identified him as 18-year-old Joe Barrett.

At about 9 p.m. on the day of the accident, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers received a call to come to the Port Chicago Highway on-ramp to eastbound Highway 4. The officers found Barrett lying in his blood down the roadway.

The teenager was severely injured and got transported to the Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. He is in critical condition, and it’s not clear if he’ll live or die.

The driver of the car who hit Barrett fled the scene and remains unidentified. However, the police received several tips on the accident and located a person of interest.

It remains unclear if the person of interest is the driver, and the police have not made any arrest. The CHP is investigating the cause of the accident.

California laws frown against hit-and-run accidents. Under the Vehicle Code Section 20001, a hit-and-run can either be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances of the case.

When charged with a misdemeanor and convicted, a person faces up to a year in jail, a fine between $1000 and $10 000, or both fine and imprisonment. The degree of negligence on the part of the offender plays a key factor.

When charged with a felony and convicted, if it involves serious bodily harm, the offender gets two, three, or four years prison sentence. He or she has the option of a fine between $1000 and 10 000, or gets both fine and imprisonment.

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