Schools
Benefit Concert This Week for Palm Desert Teen Hurt in Hit-and-Run
The concert for Grant Virgin will be held in Old Town La Quinta on Friday, at 5:30 p.m., according to organizers.
The Old Town La Quinta business district will host a concert Friday to raise money for a Palm Desert teenager critically injured in a hit-and-run crash.
The 5:30 p.m. concert by local band R Buckle Road on the event lawn in Old Town will benefit 16-year-old Palm Desert High School junior Grant Virgin, who was struck by a car at Deep Canyon Road and Fred Waring Drive in Palm Desert on Sept. 10 while walking to a friend's house.
The teen -- who suffered multiple fractures, a brain injury and a torn aorta -- has been hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance and had emergency surgery Tuesday to repair a femoral aneurysm discovered during a CT scan. He was recovering today and could be transferred to Children's Hospital Los Angeles next week, according to his mother JJ Virgin.
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All money raised at Friday's concert will go to Grant's family, Old Town La Quinta property manager Leslie Locken said.
"We look forward to playing a role in Grant's recovery, but more importantly, we welcome the support of our giving community," said Greg Vincent, a member of R Buckle Road.
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People who attend the free concert will be asked to make a donation.Those who donate at least $25 will receive a $10 off voucher for The Grill on Main, Hog's Breath Inn, Solano's Bistro, The Wine Bar or Stuft Pizza in Old Town La Quinta.
Donations are also being accepted by mail. Checks made payable to the Fund for Grant Virgin can be sent to Old Town La Quinta, 78010 Main St., Suite 201, La Quinta, CA 92253.
JJ Virgin, said her family has received support not only from friends but from people they've never met.
"We have received prayers from all over the world, Facebook and Twitter posts, cards, food, flowers and gifts for Grant," she said. "I tell him every day how much of a warrior he is and how many people are behind him, and I know this has a huge impact on his healing."
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is still looking for the motorist who struck the boy. The vehicle was described as a white, early-2000s two-door compact car. The driver was described as a Hispanic woman about 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, with black shoulder-length hair.
For information on the benefit concert, call Locken at (760) 777-1770, or go to the Grant Virgin Benefit Event page on Facebook.
