ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg police have returned a customized prosthetic leg to the family of a South Florida man critically injured when he was struck by a car Monday night.
Christopher Allen Harris, 49, sustained life-threatening injuries at around 10 p.m. when was hit by an Infinity G35 driven by 21-year-old Joshua Albert Grimmer as he crossed Fifth Avenue North in a crosswalk, police confirmed to WFLA.
Not only is Christopher Allen Harris in critical condition after he was hit by a car in St. Pete on Monday night, his custom prosthetic leg was stolen from the scene before police arrived. https://t.co/sa8F2pcAjR
— ABC 27 (@abc27) June 8, 2021
Authorities also confirmed that the impact of the crash dislodged Harris’ $15,000 prosthetic leg, customized with Marvel-themed artwork, from his body and propelled it into another vehicle.
By the time police arrived at the crash scene, however, someone had stolen the high-profile limb, and it was not recovered until around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Acting on a tip, officers found the prosthetic among other discarded items at a laundromat and returned it to Carrie Harris, Christopher Harris’ estranged wife, WFLA reported.
“It was part of his colorful nature,” Carrie Harris told the Tampa Bay Times. “It was a conversation starter, and I hope that he can have conversations again, but we don’t know.”
She also confirmed to the newspaper that Christopher Harris sustained major head trauma, spinal damage, a broken femur, broken hips and broken ribs in the crash.
Christopher Harris was worn a prosthetic leg since about the age of 3 because of a birth defect, Carrie Harris told the Times.
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