Driver who fled after hitting boy in South L.A. is sought Seven-year-old Adrian Tejada was struck by a gray minivan as he chased a ball in front of his house on Monday. He is hospitalized with several broken bones. The driver left before police arrived.

Detectives today asked for the public's help in finding a driver who fled the scene after seriously injuring a 7-year old boy playing in front of his home in South Los Angeles.

Adrian Tejada was hit when he chased after a soccer ball as he and a friend played about 6 p.m. Monday in the 6900 block of Estrella Avenue, said officials with the Los Angeles Police Department. Adrian was hit on his left side by the right front of the gray minivan, witnesses and police said.

Next-door neighbor Elizabeth Vera, 57, said the driver stopped and got out of her car for a few minutes but appeared hysterical and nervous. The driver then told Vera and other witnesses that she was going to park her car. But instead she drove off. The driver, described as 35 to 40 years old, faces possible hit-and-run charges, an LAPD traffic detective said. None of the witnesses noted a license plate number. Adrian's condition was improving today as he recovered from a fractured foot, broken ribs, slight brain bleeding and cuts and bruises, said his mother, Lilia Torres, 32.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives with the LAPD's south traffic division at (213) 485-7336 or (323) 290-6063.

Wagner is Times staff writer.