Grandfather left with brain injuries after hit-and-run; family pleads for answers

CHARLOTTE — A 64-year-old grandfather is facing lifelong challenges after a hit-and-run along West Sugar Creek Road. There has not been an arrest.

Frank Dent was waiting for a bus to go to work in July 2025 when a car hit him and never stopped.

Since then, he’s undergone multiple brain surgeries, lost his memory, and now requires full-time care as his family calls for accountability.

“He’s probably one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. He was a big giver,” said Kim Jackson, Dent’s sister.

Dent, 64, was the glue to his family.

He was a hard worker and would do anything for anyone, his sister said.

“Even at the age he was at, he still wanted to be a provider for his family,” Jackson said.

That came to a halt when a car hit him and never stopped.

He was in a coma, and there was hope for a full recovery, but that hope has been dashed.

Dent will never be the same, his sister told Channel 9.

“It’s just adverse effects on his brain, so he just doesn’t have those memories,” Jackson said. “He doesn’t know who we are.”

Dent has a feeding tube, can’t walk on his own, and has multiple brain surgeries. Dementia has set in.

“(The) last time I had a conversation with him, he didn’t know who I was,” Jackson said.

Surveillance video from a nearby nail salon shows the police response to the hit-and-run.

It’s the only surveillance video the family has seen after Channel 9 showed it to them.

Dent’s family wants accountability.

“Just come forward,” the sister said. “If this were your loved one, they would want the same justice, as well.”

Dent has been put in a nursing home, and family members tried at-home care, but that didn’t work out.

He’s back in the hospital due to complications from his injuries.

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