fbpx

Tesla Driver Wanted After Hit-and-Run Leaves Migrant Mother in ICU

After a driver ran her over twice, Lili Xu was left with multiple fractures and lung damage. The suspect remains at large.

April Xu

Jan 30, 2025

The hit-and-run accident happened around 10:45 pm on January 4, 2025, at the intersection of Horace Harding Expressway and 156th Street. Photo: April Xu for Documented.

Share Button WhatsApp Share Button X Share Button Facebook Share Button Linkedin Share Button Nextdoor

Lili Xu was struggling to lift herself from the bed with the assistance of two nurses. She pulled her right leg over slowly, minding the weight of the cast as she moved into a wheelchair and wheeled herself to the hallway outside.

In the hallway, she practiced using her new wheelchair.

“You’re doing great — this is real progress!” her doctor encouraged her.

Immigration News, Curated
Sign up to get our curation of news, insights on big stories, job announcements, and events happening in immigration.

Xu managed a faint smile. It was her first attempt at using a wheelchair since being the victim of a hit-and-run accident on the night of Jan. 4 in Queens. 

NYPD said the detectives at the 107th precinct are investigating the accident, but they have yet to identify the suspect who fled the scene that night. 

After the accident, Xu was sent to New York-Presbyterian Queens and stayed in the Intensive Care Unit for five days before she was moved to a patient room after her condition stabilized.

After about 10 minutes in the wheelchair, the pain all over the body quickly became unbearable for Xu, and she returned to her bed, where the two nurses carefully repositioned her.

“Hurts, it hurts,” Xu murmured, lying back on the bed. 

The bruising around her left eye, caused by the accident, remained visible, and half of her eyeball was bloodshot due to her capillaries being ruptured. Hearing her complaint, the doctor handed her Tylenol, while her husband, Kai Li, quickly brought her a cup of warm water.

The doctor told Li that Xu suffered severe injuries, including fractures to her pelvis, ribs, tailbone, and right foot, dislocated shoulders, and lung damage. 

For now, the family continues to navigate both the physical and emotional scars of the accident while trying to rebuild their interrupted lives. They hope anyone who witnessed the accident or has relevant information will come forward.

Lili Xu spent five days in the ICU before her condition stabilized. Photo: Kai Li

A long journey to the U.S.

In May 2023, seeking religious freedom as Muslims, Li and Xu left their longtime home in Hebei, China, and embarked on a journey to the United States with their two sons, aged 11 and 9. Like thousands of Chinese migrants who entered the U.S. through the southern border by “walking the line,” a route that involves trekking north through the dangerous Darién Gap, they risked their lives and crossed mountains, rainforests, and over a dozen countries in Central and South America before arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border on June 3, 2023.

The family of four eventually settled into a cramped one-bedroom apartment near Flushing, a neighborhood with a large Chinese community. Li found work as a truck driver making long-haul trips between New Jersey and Los Angeles, often being away for five to 10 days at a time. 

Xu began working at a nail salon and later took on a part-time job at a beauty salon to save for a larger apartment. Despite the many challenges of being new immigrants, life for the family seemed to be slowly getting better. 

Now, their lives, once on the brink of stability, have been thrown into chaos.

Lili Xu with her two sons at Times Square when they first arrived in NYC. Photo: Kai Li

‘Running over me again’

On the night of Jan. 4, Xu finished her shift at the beauty salon in Flushing and took the Q17 bus home. Around 10:45 p.m., after disembarking, she was crossing the intersection of Horace Harding Expressway and 156th Street when she was struck by a black Tesla heading north on 156th Street and attempting a right turn.

Xu said there was only a stop sign and not a traffic light at the intersection. “The Tesla didn’t stop and [it] hit me while I was crossing. The front wheel crushed my right ankle and rolled over my chest before stopping. Then it reversed, running over me again,” Xu recalled.

Xu said a man, approximately 40 years old with light skin and a blond beard, got out of the car and asked, “Are you OK?” She grabbed him with one hand, replying, “I’m no, no.”

“But he pushed my hand away, got back in the car, and drove off,” Xu said, pausing for several seconds, trying to keep her emotions in check.

Xu recalled that after being struck by the car, her head hit the ground first, and her phone was thrown several feet away. Two passing women called the police for help and retrieved Xu’s phone. Xu managed to dial her husband’s number and call for help despite her fading consciousness. 

Li rushed to the location using the information his wife sent. When he arrived, Xu was already being treated in an ambulance, and the two women who assisted her had left. Xu was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, where she spent five days in the ICU before her condition stabilized.

Staying self-sufficient

“When the kids ask about their mom, I can’t tell them the full truth. I just say she’s hurt and will get better soon,” Li said.

Some members of New York’s Muslim community have reached out to support the family, offering donations, which Li declined. “I don’t want others to bear this burden for us. We’re not at rock bottom yet — I believe we’ll get through this.”

Also Read: Chinese Asylum Seekers Await Trump’s Next Move in Uncertainty

The accident derailed the family’s plans to forgo Medicaid after their benefits expired in February. “We wanted to be self-sufficient and not seen as taking advantage of the system,” Li said, “but this accident has disrupted everything.” 

He has paused his trucking job to care for his wife and children and handle the accident’s aftermath, leaving the family without its primary income source.

New York’s no-fault insurance laws allow Li to cover part of Xu’s medical expenses through his personal car insurance, but he says he worries about the long-term costs. “I don’t know how much the bills will be, and this claim might make it harder for me to get hired as a truck driver in the future.”

According to the police report, the black Tesla fled eastbound on Horace Harding Expressway after the accident. Xu described the driver as a medium-built, light-skinned man with a blond beard, approximately 40 years old. 

The family urges anyone with information to contact the police and assist in solving the case.

If you have any information regarding the accident, please contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers program by calling its English line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), its Spanish line at 888-57-PISTA or visiting its website. You can also contact the detective squad at the 107th Precinct by calling 718-969-6844.

April Xu

April Xu is an award-winning bilingual journalist with over 9 years of experience covering the Chinese community in New York City.

@KEXU3

SEE MORE STORIES

Early Arrival Newsletter

Receive a roundup of immigration and policy news from New York, Washington, and nationwide in your inbox 3x per week.