‘We have to stay strong for Alex’: Family remains optimistic for teen struck by truck

By Kim Dacey

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A Howard County teen was riding his bike when he was hit by a truck driver and left for dead.

Family members said it happened in early August and 16-year-old Alex Morales is still in the ICU at Shock Trauma.

Anthony Morales, Alex’s brother, said he is truly one of a kind. He’s showing his strength, fighting for his life, and now the community is rallying around his family in a big show of support.

“It’s important to tell the people that you love that you love them and look them in the eye when you tell them that,” Anthony Morales said.

Anthony Morales said he is heartbroken. He and his family have been sitting by the side of his brother in the ICU at Shock Trauma since Aug. 2.

That’s when Anthony Morales said his brother was riding his bike along Gorman Road in Laurel when a truck hit him.

“According to witnesses that saw the accident and called authorities for Alex, the driver did flee on foot and essentially left Alex for dead,” he said.

Police confirmed they found the driver on foot, but no charges have been filed.

Medics airlifted the teen to Shock Trauma with a traumatic brain injury. He slipped into a coma and hasn’t woken up. Doctors said he will have a long road to recovery.

“We don’t know how damaged his brain is and what he’ll be able to do or won’t be able to do when he gets up, so we’re kind of bracing ourselves for that,” Anthony Morales said.

That is why community members have set up a GoFundMe page to help the family withthe teen’s medical bills and in the first day, it raised more than $44,000

Anthony Morales said it’s a testament to how much Alex means to his community. A rising junior at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, he was captain of the wrestling team and a member of JROTC, with dreams of becoming an Air Force pilot.

He also regularly volunteered with community organizations.

“Alex just naturally, just by the nature of the person he is, just affects people on a deeper level,” Anthony Morales said.

With an uncertain future, the Morales family is leaning on each other, praying for a miracle and taking a lesson from Alex Morales himself.

“We have to stay strong for Alex because anybody that’s known Alex knows that he’s headstrong and compassionate and a really good kid with a heart of gold, and he wouldn’t want anything less from us right now,” Anthony Morales said.

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