Family members of a seriously-injured teen are pleading for the operator of a speedboat to come forward after a crash at Bartlett Lake over the weekend.
Family members confirmed Alec Medina, 15, is the teen who was involved in the crash on Saturday afternoon. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says the teen, who was on a jet ski, and another boat collided.
"Seeing him yesterday was like terrifying, it was heartbreaking, you can't even recognize him," said Ariana Lara, who is Medina's cousin.
According to family members, Medina was at the lake celebrating his girlfriend's 16th birthday.
"I think he went there with the intention of having fun and coming home safely," Lara said.
According to MCSO, deputies searched the lake but the speedboat involved, and those on board, were nowhere to be found.
"(I'm) really mad, really mad, because honestly if it were me and my speedboat hit someone I would not leave that person," Lara said.
Other boaters were able to help Medina and take him to shore. Deputies found him unconscious but breathing. He was airlifted out of the area and taken to the Maricopa Medical Center.
Authorities have not released details of the crash, but do want to speak to the operator of the other boat that was involved.
On Monday, they released descriptions of two people who they believe were involved and who they describe as "persons of interest." MCSO describes them as a Caucasian man, around 30 years old, 5'8" to 5'9" with a shaved head and goatee. The second person is described as a Hispanic woman in her late-teens or early 20's with long black hair.
The boat involved may have had a black canopy top with a light-grey hull, according to MCSO.
Family members told ABC15 Medina is suffering from skull fractures and a broken nose. On Monday, he was undergoing a 7-hour surgery. Authorities say the teen is stable but in serious condition and will undergo many more surgeries.
His family is pleading for those involved to come forward.
"Just come forward," Lara said. "The longer they wait, the bigger it's going to get."
MCSO urges anyone with information on the collision, or if you were involved in helping the teen or witnessed the crash or were at the boat ramps at the time, to contact officials by calling (602) 876-1011.
