Family pleads for hit-and-run driver to come forward; image of car released

TAMPA, Fla. - A Hillsborough County father is spending the holidays in the intensive care unit after a violent hit-and-run crash just before midnight

Sunday. Investigators are still looking for the person behind the wheel.

Mitchell Cribbs Jr. was left to die along Nebraska Avenue after a driver slammed into him and kept going.

"I can’t stop seeing it,” said Mitchell’s girlfriend, Tabitha Grimes.

Tabitha and her mother witnessed the horrific crash.

“You could hear the impact from across the street,” Dawn Kirkman said.  “There was a lady that lived across the street and she came running over because she heard it."

The father of five was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

“He was rushed into surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain and try to stop some of the bleeding," said Tabitha.

Since Sunday morning, Mitchell hasn't improved much. The 33-year-old is in a medically-induced coma in St. Joseph’s Hospital's intensive care unit.

“I just want him to wake up," Tabitha said.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers are trying to track down the driver and hope you can help. Two photos of the suspect's vehicle were released Tuesday.  It's described as a white sedan.

Cribbs' loved ones are pleading for someone to speak up, and for the driver to take responsibility.

"I just want them to turn themselves in, do the right thing,” said Tabitha. “Like, I don’t understand how anyone could hit someone and just run away. That’s a life, that’s a person, somebody’s dad, a father, a son.”

She says the kids are helping her stay strong. However, the tragedy and uncertainty for Mitchell are a dark cloud hanging over what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.

"Daddy needs love for Christmas,” said 4-year-old Trinity. "Because he’s hurt."

If you know where the car is, or who the driver is, you are urged to call FHP at 813-558-1800.

Mitchell's loved ones are offering a $1,000.00 reward for information that leads to an arrest.