COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A 16-year-old foreign exchange student is in critical condition after he was the victim of a hit and run in Coweta County.
Timothee Rey is currently studying at Northgate High School from France and other students rushed to his rescue when he was hit riding his bike Tuesday night.
Northgate High School Principal Ashley Wilkes said the students who came to Rey's aide didn't know it was another student at first, they just knew someone needed help.
"I would commend them for being calm and collected, and going to him, just being there for him at that moment," she said.
According to Wilkes, the students there stayed with Rey before he was life-flighted to Grady.
"Our students are writing letters and putting together care packages for him. We want to be there for him in his recovery, even though he's a foreign exchange student, he is part of our family," she said.
According to a report from Georgia State Patrol, Rey was riding his bike Tuesday evening when a dark-colored sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry, hit the 16-year-old and another car before the driver took off.
Rey's injuries were traumatic but Wilkes wants him to know he's not alone.
"As a school, that's our biggest thought, to rally around him," she said.
Rey just started at Northgate at the beginning of the year, so the school doesn't even have a picture of him to share yet.
His family is flying in from France Thursday night, and Wilkes said the students want to show them how much they care about Rey.
"Last week, at the football game, they had deemed him our good luck charm because we kept going into overtime. I have met him before, he's a joy and he's very bright. He has that energy and he's made a lot of new friends because of his personality," she said.
Wilkes added that while Rey is in critical condition, he is improving, and they're thankful for that.
She says everyone at Northgate is hoping Rey can heal and finish out the year.
Police said they don't have any leads yet on who the driver of the car was. But the dark-colored sedan will likely have extensive front-end damage and would have been driving on GA 34 just before 7:30 Tuesday night.
Anyone with information is asked to call Georgia State Patrol or Coweta County Police.