High schooler seriously injured in hit-and-run witnessed by his entire cross-country team

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - A high school freshman from Alabama is still recovering in the hospital days after a hit-and-run that happened while he was on a cross-country team training run.

Chandler Drouin, a 14-year-old Grissom High School student, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run last Wednesday morning, officials said. His mother, Nicole Drouin, said he had surgery Saturday afternoon to repair his leg, and they are waiting for his levels to become normal, WAFF reports.

Chandler’s cross-country coach, Christy Binns, said the entire team and the coaching staff witnessed the incident. She told WAFF it was a horrifying moment but also showed the strength of her athletes.

“It was horrific as coaches to have witnessed the incident but particularly for our team, who also had to watch it,” she said. “We have amazing kids on our team. They’re very resilient. They really handled the situation better than you would expect young teenagers to.”

Binns said Chandler is a freshman whose family recently moved from Texas to Alabama. He’s new to the area and new to the team, splitting his time between cross-country and JROTC.

“He’s done very well in running. Being involved in two different activities is a lot, and he seemed to have been managing to take care of both of those and be committed to both of them,” she said.

Chandler’s mother said she appreciates all the love and support the community has shown as her son recovers. She said the teen’s cross-country team wore green ribbons for him, his fellow JROTC members wore bracelets and his Boy Scout Troop 343 were also sending messages of support.

Huntsville Police arrested the suspected hit-and-run driver, 21-year-old Jarod Monroe Severance, hours after the incident occurred. He has been charged with second-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident and remains in the Madison County Jail on a $30,000 bond.

In the wake of the incident, Binns says the cross-country team will be making changes come practice time. From now on, they’ll avoid busy intersections and instead practice in neighborhoods and grass ways.

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