TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - After a traumatic hit-and-run this week, 17-year-old Heather Elliott is on the road to recovery. Along the way, friends and strangers on the Internet are helping her heal while offering the prospect of answers.

 

“She will be doing her back surgery in the morning,” Elliott’s mother, Mitzi Perfetto, told KGUN9 News Friday. “From there, they're going to go ahead and put screws in from probably about the middle of her back all the way to her tailbone with rods.”

 

Perfetto says these are painful times for her daughter, but comfort has come en masse from friends, neighbors and strangers who've taken to Facebook.

 

"So sorry to hear and such awful news to a young lady who's life is barely beginning!” wrote Karla Fourcade Alvarado on the 9 On Your Side Facebook page. “My prayers go out to this young lady to a complete and full recovery."

 

Stefanie Stockstill wrote: "Prayers for healing and for all those involved."

 

“What does that mean to you?” reporter Kevin Keen asked. “That means that there are people out there who are humane because the simple the fact that when this happened, she felt like there are people with inhumane feelings--that there's just no compassion, no caring. To have more people sit there and actually care is a big deal. That means a lot to her, too, because we read them to her. We do. We let her know that there's so many people praying for her. It's like every day, I go on Facebook and she's like, 'How many today, mom?'”

 

Perfetto knows that online support could also be the key to solving this case. Heather, after all, doesn't remember what happened. “We need tips,” she said. “We somebody--anybody. Even if you have just overheard anything from one of your friends and you don't want to come forward. We need this closure for heather.”

 

Andrew Dow is a friend of Heather's and one of dozens spreading the word online. The more awareness, the better the chances of getting that closure. “I just hope whoever did it gets caught. Really,” the 16-year-old said. “I just--there's no room for any of this. I don't think this should've happened. No one deserves any of this. No pain. It's not fair.” Keen asked him, “Is getting out the word key to making that happen?” “Hopefully, yes,” he replied.

 

If you have any information on this case, call 88-CRIME or 9-1-1.