KANSAS CITY, MO — On Sunday morning, 21-year-old Erinn Billups, was enjoying a night out with friends that turned into a near death experience.
“I was in Westport because it was my friends 22nd birthday, so I was out there with some girlfriends and my boyfriend, [and] one of our moms was coming to pick us up so no one had to drive,” Billups said. “I absolutely don’t remember anything from standing outside the building to waking up in my hospital bed, everything is a blur between it.”
Billups was the victim of a hit-and run that happened near 43rd Street and Main Street in Kansas City.
“It’s hard too grasp at first because you don’t really think it can happen to you and think I looked in the mirror for the first time and saw the scab on my forehead,” Billups said.
After the accident, she was transported to the hospital in stable condition. Today, she told KSHB 41 News that although she doesn’t remember the accident, she can still feel the pain.
“I have a concussion, I have my skull fractures, my eye fractures and my broken nose," Billups said. "I have some bruising up and down my right leg where I believe the car hit me."
While Billups says she feels the pain from her injuries, she also feels the pain of missing out on some colleges experiences she was looking forward to as the captain of her university’s cheer team. All because of the careless act of a stranger.
“Saturday is our homecoming game so we have all the alumni coming back and we get to showcase our brand new uniforms," Billups said. "I’m also in a teaching program and I attend a 4th grade classroom and I was going to be able to teach a lesson for the first time, which I don’t get to do anymore."
Today Billups is alive, and miraculously recovering at home, after being discharged from the hospital earlier Tuesday afternoon with family by her side.
“When you get a call saying your daughter had been hit by a car, you prepare for all the worst case scenarios there are," Nicole Billups, her mother said. "We were expecting her to be here for a long time."
Erinn reflected on how thankful she is that it didn't turnout worse.
“I think about it, and think about how much worse it could be and when I think about that, it usually makes me tear up because I’m very thankful," she said.
Erinn and her mother are counting their blessings and simply asking for whoever did this to come forward.
“She said she’s not concerned about getting mad or pressing charges she just kind of wants to connect with that person to say 'I’m okay,'” Nicole Billups said.
“I am not angry and I am just very thankful for what I get to do after,” Erinn Billups said.
Erinn says she is grateful to be going home, and cant wait to get back to activities she loves.
Anyone with information that could help detectives find the suspect and/or suspect vehicle, is asked to contact the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
