Student Left In Coma By Hit-and-Run Driver

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Classmates at the Quinnipiac University have been visiting 21-year-old Robert Aliano since the accident that left him in a coma.

It's been more than six weeks since Nick Aliano last spoke to his son.

On Nov. 08, 2008, 21-year-old Robert Aliano was struck by an oncoming vehicle in Hamden, Conn. and left to die. Thanks to his two friends, who called an ambulance that night, Robert was saved, but just barely. He is now in coma with his family praying by his bedside.

Robert was a senior at Quinnipiac University, where he was earning a degree in Marketing. Nick felt that his son was safe and doing well away from his home in New York, having earned straight-A's, and had even made the Dean's List.

Nick received a phone call after 1 a.m. that night that would change his family forever: while Robert crossed the street near his campus to get a sandwich, he was struck head-on. Robert had been thrown 50 feet into the air. When he landed, his friends say the car came to a stop, then sped off. Robert was badly injured and no longer able to speak.

Robert was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital. 5 weeks later he was transferred to Kessler Hospital in New Jersey,  where he is being cared for by the same doctors who monitored Christopher Reeve's recovery.

The 1993-1995 gray or silver Nissan Quest or Mercury Voyager that hit Robert was believed have had its lights off. Since the accident, police have scoured every junkyard in the area looking for a vehicle matching the description with damage to the front bumper. So far, they've come up empty.

Nick says that once Robert is well again, he will devote his time to finding the driver who hurt his son.

Until then, his family is hoping that America's Most Wanted can help. If you know anything about the accident, or the car that may have been involved, call our hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV right now.