Longboarder hurt in Minnetonka hit-and-run, mother calls for driver to come forward

MINNETONKA, Minn. (KMSP) - An 18-year-old Minnetonka man was left for dead after he was hit by a pickup truck while longboarding in Minnetonka this week. The teen’s mother is now pleading for the driver to turn themself in.

Monica Cobos broke down outside North Memorial Medical Center where her 18-year-old son, Damian Cobos, is now recovering.

“It’s my baby,” said Monica. “I only have two and you almost took one from me.”

Monica says Tuesday night, Damian was hanging out with his brother and friend on Minnetonka Boulevard near Lakeshore Boulevard and Highland Avenue when he was hit by a white pickup truck. The driver just kept going.

“You hit a person—you left them there bleeding, what if he was severely hurt and no one was there with him—you left him there to just bleed out?” said Monica.

She told Fox 9 she was inside the garage when she heard her younger son screaming for her.

“I just see blood everywhere—I felt sick to my stomach—I had no idea what was happening, I had no idea how bad my kid was injured - if he was even going to be ok,” she said.

Damian was rushed to the hospital where staff determined he suffered multiple injuries including facial fractures and bleeding on the outside of his brain. Damian just graduated from Minnetonka High School in June. He got into longboarding recently after a school project in his woodworking class.

“He’s a young kid—he’s 18 years old—he wants to be a tattoo artist—there’s things he wants to do and this person almost took all that away from him,” said Monica.

She is begging for the driver to do the right thing.

“I just want some type of closure—I want to know what were you doing that was so important that you had to take your eyes off of the road for a minute, a second, however long it was,” said Monica.

Police are encouraging people in the community who may have more information on the hit-and-run or may have noticed a white pickup truck with front-end damage on the passenger side to come forward.