A Virginia mother is grieving the unimaginable after her 16-year-old son was struck and killed by an alleged drunk hit-and-run driver while walking home from Arby’s.
Joshua Driver, 16, had gone to Arby’s in Henrico County on Friday night with his brother, according to his family. The boys usually took the bus home, but Joshua missed the last one.
His mother, Sharon Driver, believes her son was walking back along West Broad Street when he was hit.
“[The brother] came back on his own on [the] last bus, and Joshua missed the last bus,” she told WRIC. “I believe that Josh was walking back … when this happened to him.”
Police say 41-year-old John Daniel Bruehl was driving under the influence when he struck Joshua and fled the scene.
Joshua’s body was later found in a grassy area along the shoulder of the road about three hours after the crash, early Saturday morning.
Now, his mother is left with heartbreak and anger.
“This man just hit him and ran away,” Sharon told WTVR. “How can he do that to my son? I feel like he has no heart. He didn’t have a heart.”
Joshua’s family described him in a GoFundMe as an “autistic and mentally disabled” teen who “didn’t always understand everything,” but was aware of what was happening around him.
His mother said Joshua normally wore a reflective vest that had been given to him by a bus operator. But on the night he was killed, the vest was not with him because she had washed it and had not yet had a chance to dry it.
“He had one of those vests given to him by the bus operator,” Sharon told WTVR. “But the day before I washed it, so it was in the washer still … and I hadn’t had a chance to dry it.”
That detail has only made the tragedy harder for his family to bear.
One of the most painful things for Sharon is not knowing what her son experienced after he was struck.
“I don’t know if he suffered or if he died instantly,” she told WRIC. “He didn’t even grow up. He didn’t become an adult.”
Bruehl has been charged with DUI and hit-and-run. Arrest records reportedly show this is his second alleged DUI offense within five to 10 years.
For Joshua’s grieving family, the case is a devastating reminder of the deadly consequences of drunk driving.
“It hurts people, it kills people,” Sharon told WRIC. “It killed my son.”
So this scumbag, who looks like a scumbag, was caught only 2 times for DUI. How many more times has this dirtbag driven drunk and not been caught?????
POS needs to rot in prison for the rest of his pathetic life
Sadly, not in our America!!
Too many bleeding heart women!!