It's been two years since a chattanooga teen was hit by a car and left in critical condition.
Evan Bidwell was just 16 when he was in an accident that left him fighting for his life.
Police say Welner Martinez Castillo was driving down North Moore Road when he hit Bidwell, who was on a motorcycle, and fled the scene.
"Went to head back home and that's about all I remember from the actual wreck, didn't wake up until a couple days later in the hospital," Bidwell said.
"It's hard for any parent to look at their child laying there looks like they've been blown up in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan," Randy Bidwell, Evan's father, explained. "His whole shoulder was torn apart, you could see the ligaments, bones, everything inside of his arm."
The accident left his arm paralyzed. Randy says he watched his son never stop fighting.
"To hear your child scream in pain all night long, its hard to take, but he's done very well, he's probably got a better attitude about it than I do," he said.
A year later, they say, finally some justice. Castillo was arrested in August of last year. He's charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Evan and his dad think that's not enough.
"He's out on bail of $350 of his own cost to potentially do this to your family, your loved ones, or anybody else," Randy said.
Meanwhile, they say they've faced nearly half a million dollars in medical costs. Last week, Evan had his arm amputated.
"I talked to different doctors about what they could do for my arm, they told me there wasn't much they could do for me and then just last week I elected to go ahead and have the surgery done to remove it," Evan said.
But since the wreck, there have been some major life events.
"Graduated on time back in May and now I'm a student at Chatt State," he said.
Evan says he plans to have many more exciting years ahead. He refuses to let this keep him down.
"Mainly, be thankful for what you do have, every day is not guaranteed," he said. "I came close to death that day, pick up where you left off, do the best you can, stay positive."
Castillo is due in Hamilton County court on October 16th.
By: Brittany Nicholson
