POCATELLO — A teenage boy is “super lucky” to be alive after being struck by a vehicle while walking along Bannock Highway in an apparent hit-and-run collision.

The incident occurred around 7:45 p.m. Saturday while Josh Ware, 17, of Pocatello, was walking northbound along Bannock Highway en route to his grandmother’s house in Old Town.

A 33-year-old Pocatello woman, Alexandrea Kay Vargason, was arrested at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday for felony leaving the scene of an injury accident in connection with the hit-and-run, police said.

A pickup truck or SUV struck Ware north of The Sand Trap bar and grill and the impact threw him well off the road, his family said. The vehicle continued driving afterward, and there were no witnesses who reported the incident.

Ware suffered a badly broken arm and deep bruising throughout his body as a result of the collision and found himself unable to walk as he lay in the snow several yards from Bannock Highway on a cold Saturday night.

Ware began yelling to get someone’s attention and 45 minutes later a nearby homeowner heard him and dialed 911.

Pocatello police and fire units responded and Ware was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center for treatment.

He’s expected to survive but will spend at least the next few days at PMC.

Ware’s family said the vehicle hit him with such force that the impact knocked off the vehicle’s side-view mirror and parts of its front end including a headlight. Ware’s family said that police believe the vehicle that hit him was either a Ford pickup or SUV based on the debris from the vehicle found at the scene.

Ware was wearing light-colored clothing at the time of the incident.

Ware’s family said that he is “super lucky” to be alive because he not only survived the impact of being struck by a large vehicle but also survived being seriously injured and left out in Saturday evening’s below-freezing weather.

If you have any information about the hit and run collision that left Ware seriously injured, please contact Pocatello police at 208-234-6100.

Pocatello police are expected to release more information soon on their investigation into the incident so stay with idahostatejournal.com for updates on this story.