Jeff Kearney was hit while walking across a crosswalk on16th Avenue Southwest in White Center on Tuesday night. The vehicle hit Kearney so hard that its side mirror sheered off. But police say the driver slowed for just a moment before speeding off.

Kearney was taken to Harborview Medical Center with critical injuries. On Thursday Kearney underwent surgery and was placed in an induced coma. Kearney is still recovering, but his condition has been upgraded to serious.

And much of Burien is standing by his side.

"Oh, it just crushed me. He's like a son to me. I just truly love that kid," said friend Debra George.

George got Kearney a job cleaning up downtown Burien through the Burien Team Clean Sweep program.

She and her friends have put up a $1,000 reward to track down the hit-and-run driver.

"The more I thought about it, the more angry I got that someone would leave him," said friend Lynda Isernio. "There's going to be a ton of people out looking for this vehicle, so the absolute best outcome is for the person that hit him to just step up, do the right thing and turn themselves in."

"It's not like someone did it intentionally, and we know it was probably an accident. But to leave -- it was intentional to leave," said George.

Despite being mentally-disabled, friends say Kearney lives life the way people should, and remembers everyone's name.

"Every time he leaves the bank, he always says, 'I love you, Lynda Isernio,'" Isernio said.

Investigators believe a maroon-colored truck or SUV hit Kearney. They've narrowed the possibilities to the following models: GM or Chevrolet full-size pick-up: 1988-1989
Chevy Blazer or Jimmy: 1992-1994
Chevy Suburban: 1992-1999
GMC Yukon: 1992-1999
Chevrolet Tahoe: 1995-1999

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the King County Sheriff's Office at (206)296-3311, or 911 immediately.