Prayer vigil held for teen on life support after hit-and-run
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A prayer vigil was held Monday at Mitchell High School for Thomas Powell, a teenager on life support after being a victim of a hit-and-run earlier this month.
“I thought my brother was gone,” Thomas’ brother Micah Williams said.
Williams described to WREG how in an instant, Thomas went from casually standing in the street to being sent flying before brutally slamming into the ground.
“If you drop a pan on the ground, that’s how it sounded,” Williams said. “They (his neighbors) came out their door because they heard his body hit the ground. They thought someone was banging on their window.”
Hit-and-run wreck leaves honor student on life support
As Thomas continues to recover from his injuries, a prayer vigil was held at Mitchell High School as his loved ones came together to pray for the teen.
“Thomas has over 27 offers. UT-Martin, the University of Memphis, HBCUs (like) Mississippi Valley and Jackson State offered him a scholarship on the spot,” Mitchell High Principal Kelvin Meeks said.
However, Meeks said that Thomas had aspirations of going to an Ivy League school like Harvard or Yale.
Thomas has been receiving other academic offers in the mail while he’s in the hospital. Despite that good news, his family remains frustrated.
That is because they say that they know who was driving the car that struck their loved one and even saw him driving recklessly.
“You know who you are. I’m not going to say your name on the news, but you know who you are,” Thomas’ mother Shauntay Williams said. “Baby, go turn yourself in. My son can’t even sleep. They won’t take the restraints off of him.”
They also say that the police know the suspect too, yet no arrests have been made.
“The Memphis Police Department – the man told me, ‘Give them 10 days to handle it,” Shauntay Williams said. “I have yet to hear from anyone with the police department at all.”
WREG reached out to the Memphis Police for an update on this case. They said that this investigation is being handled by the traffic division.
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