Man Seriously Injured After Hit-&-Run In St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – St. Paul Police are searching for the suspect they say seriously injured a beloved member of the community in a hit-and-run crash.

An Uber driver found 48-year-old Tom Corbett lying in a snowbank on Monday night.

Investigators believe he was struck by a car that fled the scene.

At last check, Corbett was in stable condition in the hospital, but is recovering from a broken jaw, several broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Now, his family and friends want to know who is responsible for all of this.

On Monday night, police say Corbett was walking home from work at Cooper's Foods in the area of Michigan and Duke streets between 6:30 and 7:15 when he was hit.

An Uber driver who just happened to be in the area found him lying in a snowbank with serious facial injuries and called 911.

When investigators arrived, Corbett told them he had slipped on the ice, but tire tracks and debris led detectives to believe he was hit by a car.

Corbett has Down syndrome and has lived in adult foster care with Rick Hansen and his family for the past 25 years.

Hansen visited him in the hospital and says his spirits are still high.

"He was kind of in and out of consciousness, because he was under a lot of painkillers but he was there. He was joking around with us and smiling. He wanted to know if he was going to be coming into work this Monday, so that was kind of nice to see that he's already wanting to get out of there and get back to work to be with us," Hansen said.

Investigators have not spoken with any witnesses just yet and have not found any video that sheds any light on what may have happened.

Corbett's family says he typically walks home from work because he likes to be independent.

If you have any information, you are asked to call St. Paul Police.