BURIEN, Wash. - Jeff Kearney is well known around Burien for his smile, and gregarious spirit.
But tonight, the 36-year-old is at Harborview Medical Center, in a coma after a driver hit him in a crosswalk and then took off.
It happened Tuesday, Nov. 17 around 5:30 p.m. Kearney was walking home from the video store. And in the crosswalk at 16th and SW 106th in White Center a truck or SUV plowed through the intersection, according to police, striking Kearney.
Police believe the driver hesitated, and then took off.
"The cops come to the door, and I thought, oh god, cops only come to your door if someone is dead," says Uncle Mike Lindorff. "You know, they said he's not dead. But he's hurt."
Kearney, a mentally disabled man, was pushed 30 feet down the street by the impact. He's been in a coma ever since.
"He's moving his arms and legs, and flutters his eyes," says Lindorff.
Debra George says Kearney is beloved in the City of Burien, where she managed him on the "Team Clean Sweep Program," a community beautification project staffed by people with disabilities.
"He is friendly, outgoing, smiling all the time. He's amazing," says George.
Friend Lynda Insernio says "he's touched a lot of lives in Burien" and is now leading the effort to find the driver responsible, "the person who hit him knows that they hit a person, and we want them to know it was somebody."
Police say they're looking for a maroon Chevy or GMC Blazer, Suburban, or pickup. It's probably missing one of its side-view mirrors and has damage to the left front fender.
The Discover Burien Association is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Kearney turns 37 years old on Saturday.
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