Avon Teen Tied to Car Roof for Miles: Hit-and-Run Driver Gets 5 Years

Imagine surviving a hit-and-run—only to find yourself riding four miles on a stranger’s SUV roof before being unceremoniously dumped on the road. According to NBC CT, that was the horrifying reality for Avon High sophomore Liam Shields.

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This story reads like a nightmare: October 4, 2024, a red Subaru Forester hits Avon teen Liam Shields. He tumbles onto the roof… and is carried four miles through town. Finally, driver Alex Joel Rivera pulls over, tosses him off, and drives away. On August 28, 2025, Rivera was sentenced to five years in prison, at the midpoint of the 3–7 year plea deal, with three years of probation to follow, plus strict conditions for probation violations. 

I Felt Like Roadkill’: Liam Shields Confronts Driver Who Left Him for Dead

According to the Stamford Advocate/CTPost, in court, Liam spoke through tears: “I felt like roadkill,” he said, a tragic metaphor that’s igniting outrage and empathy across social media. He added, “This man tried to murder me.” His father, Jeremy Shields, couldn’t hold back either: “The willingness to discard a child’s life will haunt me forever.”

Defense argued that a flawed man had made a horrendous mistake; Rivera had no record, and the family pleaded that they made it personal and painful. The judge said the actual crime wasn’t just the crash, but the aftermath: abandoning a teen clinging for life.

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CT Insider reported that when Rivera finally realized what he’d done, he offered a broken apology: “You didn’t deserve this, Liam.” Judge David P. Gold was unyielding: dragging a child on a roof and leaving him there was beyond the pale.