23-year-old remains in ICU after hit-and-run in Collier County

Reporter: Amy Galo Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:

Troopers are still working to find out who left a 23-year-old man for dead on the side of a road.

Ben Hugoboom was riding his motorcycle home Saturday night along Immokalee Road at Interstate 75 in Collier County when someone hit him and took off.

He’s in the ICU with multiple injuries, which include spinal fractures, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

“He is barely able to speak,” said Michaela Dockery, Hugoboom’s sister. “He’s still critical. His body’s broken.”

He told his family he thinks a white vehicle hit him, and the family hopes someone may have seen it.

“Honestly, it’s shocking that he’s alive, and that he’s not paralyzed,” said Gabriel Hugoboom, Ben’s brother.

The Ave Maria University student is now in critical condition.

“Things like this sometimes don’t seem important until it happens to someone that you love, and it can happen in a blink of an eye,” Dockery said.

Dockery is one of Hugoboom’s seven siblings. She said that just hours before Ben was hit…

“He messaged us to send us a beautiful picture on the beach. Life can change in a second, in a heartbeat,” she said.

Now, the 23-year-old’s family wants answers and justice.

“The call came in at 11:05 to emergency the ambulance, so we’re hoping that there was, you know, someone around. They can at least give us some info if that car was marked,” Dockery said.

Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating the hit-and-run and hasn’t shared any current leads.

Now, the family is asking for the community’s help in finding out who did this.

“He’s going to suffer the consequences of this horrific accident for years to come, and I know that it would give everyone some peace, at least, to at least get some justice for what’s been done,” Dockery said.

The family is currently trying to transfer Ben to a hospital in Miami where he can be closer to family and receive trauma care.

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