Fall River mother in recovery after being hit by van

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — A Fall River mother was left in recovery after being hit by a van on her way home from work on Aug. 12.

Police responded to Hartwell Street just before 8 p.m. for reports of a woman lying in the street.

That woman, Nisa Cote, suffered nine broken ribs and a broken collarbone, and her family said she went into surgery Thursday morning.

“It’s been very, very difficult,” Micah Omonira said. “When it first happened, we didn’t know what to expect. They said she wasn’t moving and that they were bringing her to the trauma center. My five-year-old, she’s not really understanding what’s going on, but it’s taking a big toll on my seven-year-old.”

Omonira and cote have been together for the past eight years and have two children together.

He said that after the surgery she should be able to make a full recovery, but it’s going to be a long road to get there.

During the ongoing investigation, police learned that the driver of the vehicle that hit Cote was driving without a license.=

“From what I was told, it was a company van, which means somebody allowed this person to drive without a license and he was also speeding down the road from what the police report said,” Omonira said. “And if you know that area, there’s two stop signs from where he came. For him to get up to that speed, I would have to assume he blew one of those.”

That driver, meanwhile, claimed he didn’t see the woman due to the rain.

Omonira said that while they’re looking into a possible lawsuit, the focus currently is on getting Cote home in the next few weeks.

“A lot of people are sending their love to her, hoping for a speedy recovery, and it’s just been really overwhelming,” He said. “The love and support that has been coming out from people that I wouldn’t have expected.”

A GoFundMe for Cote was set up and can be found here.

No charges have been announced and the driver has not been identified.