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“Just unthinkable.”
That’s how Lake Ronkonkoma mom Jen Wertovitch described the alleged actions of the woman accused in a hit-and-run that left her 13-year-old son Travis bleeding and severely injured in the street.
Police arrested Virginia Waka, 47, in connection with Tuesday night’s crash, Suffolk County Police said. Detectives from the department’s Fourth Squad charged Waka with leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury after she allegedly struck Travis while he was riding his e-bike along Hawkins Avenue in Lake Ronkonkoma.
“For a woman to leave a young man bleeding out on the side of the road is just unthinkable,” Wertovitch — a licensed clinical psychologist who lives with her husband, their son and two teenage daughters — told Greater Long Island.
Police said Waka was driving a 2012 white Ford Fusion south on Hawkins Avenue and turning left onto School Street about 8:30 p.m. when she allegedly hit Travis. The car was headed in the direction of her home on Wellington Court, just blocks away.
Waka was issued a desk appearance ticket and is expected to appear in Suffolk County First District Court in Central Islip at a later date. But Wertovitch noted that the district attorney had informed her that the woman will face felony charges.
Greater Long Island reached out to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office for comment, but has not yet heard back.
Riding home from Boy Scout meeting
Travis, who was reportedly on his way home from a Boy Scout meeting, was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. His mom said he suffered multiple compound fractures in his left leg, with his “tibia breaking through the skin” and muscles “shredded.”
Doctors repaired the leg with two plates and more than a dozen screws; some may need to be removed in the future as Travis continues to grow, she said.
‘Travis is in a lot of pain and is having significant mobility issues,” Jen Wertovitch said. “He loves to ride his bike and is devastated that he won’t be able to be with his friends during the last days of summer, nor will he be able to start his last first day of middle school.”
The family is facing additional challenges at home, she said. Travis’ father Gary recently underwent foot surgery and is non-weight-bearing, using a knee scooter and unable to drive. Travis’ sisters, Jayden, 17, and Payton, 15, have stepped in to help with household chores, transportation and the care of the family’s many rescued animals, Jen Wertovitch said.
Wertovitch added that the family has been overwhelmed by support from friends, family and the community.
Top photo: A 2023 photo of Travis Wertovitch with his two older sisters at the beach (Threads).
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