Officials said a vehicle passed a stopped school bus on Packing Plant Road, near Galilee Road just outside Smithfield, just before 6:30 a.m., hitting Andrew Lee as he was trying to board the bus.
He suffered some scrapes and bruises and now is on crutches.
"Every other day, cars stop, you walk out there," Lee said. "They're supposed to stop, but she didn't stop."
Lee says he tried to get out of the car's way as he saw the headlights getting closer, but it was too late.
"I tried to run back into my driveway," he said. "By the time I noticed that, she had already hit me."
After blacking out, Lee says he was taken to the hospital.
Lee is an expecting father and says it could have been much worse.
"I've got a lot to live for," he said. "I've got my kid. I don't want her to grow up without having a dad."
The driver, 73-year-old Mary Francis Mitchner, says she couldn't stop in time to avoid striking Lee.
"He hit my car, and I stopped and I ran over there to go see about him," she explained.
Mitchner says she has suffered with what happened and hopes Lee is okay.
"What I've been going though is my nerves," she said. "Upset about the child because that's the worst thing in my life. I would never want to hit no one, and I pray he is okay."
The North Carolina Highway Patrol charged Mitchner with careless and reckless driving and failure to stop for a stopped school bus.
She is expected to appear in court Friday.
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