13-year-old recovering after Wilkes-Barre hit and run

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s been just over two weeks since 13-year-old Elijah Haney was hit and critically injured by a reckless driver in Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park. He’s still in a Danville hospital.

Eli’s mom, Pamela Brady, says as her son makes strides in his recovery. The support from the community has been nothing short of amazing during a difficult time for their family.

On Monday, August 5, Brady says her family’s life was forever changed.

“It’s every parent’s like one of our worst nightmares,” Brady said.

According to police, 28-year-old Shahiyd Deen of Wilkes-Barre lost control of his vehicle doing burnouts in the lot.

The Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office says Deen is facing the charge of an accident involving death or personal injury.

DUI charges are pending after Deen tested positive for alcohol and THC.

The crash left Eli in critical condition.

“We are just trying to take it one day at a time,” Brady stated.

Suffering broken bones, and a fractured skull, it’s been a tireless fight for the young boy.

Eli was intubated and sedated for 11 days, and his mom says her son is making a slow, but steady recovery.

“Physically he is making great strides he is healing. Things are going very well. The swelling has gone down tremendously. He is able to get out of bed with help of course,” Brady explained.

Emotionally, she says it’s been a bit more challenging.

“The sedation and the medications are just starting to fully wear off and now the emotions are coming through and that has been a little bit more difficult for him to deal with,” Brady continued.

Brady describes Eli as kind, considerate, and always caring for others.

One of his first questions when he woke up:

“He doesn’t remember what happened, but he did ask me, he’s like ‘Are my friends ok?'”

After receiving hundreds of messages asking about Eli and how people can help, Brady created a Facebook page to document his journey .

“I’m really blown away because the community has been so supportive, and they’ve reached out and they’ve been so helpful,” said Brady.

As Eli continues his fight, Brady sends a message on behalf of her son, and her entire family.

“We feel very supported by the community by our family and our friends and we’re just grateful for all of that because our family really needed that,” Brady added.

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