An East Hampton mother is pleading for the driver who she said ran her daughter off the road, causing serious injury, to come forward.
Judy Barney Costen told NBC Connecticut she received the dreaded call that her 19-year-old daughter was hurt on Wednesday morning.
“I hope that nobody has to go through that. Time stood still and I know that sounds so stupid because people say that but it was…it was if I was in a dream.”
According to Connecticut State Police, the teen was driving in the left lane on Interstate 91 south in Middletown when a silver truck merged from the center lane into the left lane. Sarah Barney described the moments leading up to the accident.
“I started beeping at him the closer and closer he got and he just didn’t go back into the right lane, so I didn’t know what else to do, so I kept moving more to the left and I hit the rumble strips on the side of the road, and I lost control and I flipped down into the grass.”
“There’s absolutely no way that he or she didn’t see what had happened,” said Barney Costen.
The Jeep rolled several times ending up on its roof. Barney, who is a dance teacher and an acrobat, was badly hurt. Her mother said her future as a dancer is questionable at this point.
Local
“She’ll probably never do that again. Both of her legs are broken down near the ankles. One ankle is shattered.”
In an email to NBC Connecticut, State Police said given the truck did not hit Barney’s car this is not considered a hit-and-run, however, they would like to find the driver for their account. Meanwhile, Barney Costen said she is grateful to the good Samaritans who rushed to her daughter’s side.
“I thank God that she’s alive, and I thank God that those people that were there to be with her and take care of her when I couldn’t be.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to contact State Police at 860-534-1000.
