LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — More than two years after Damian Kevitt lost a leg following a nearly fatal hit and run in Griffith Park he plans to call attention to what he calls a growing epidemic by running in Sunday’s LA Marathon.

“I was hit on Zoo Drive, just a couple miles from where we’re sitting right here,” Kevitt told CBS2’s Jeff Nguyen on Wednesday.

Kevitt was hospitalized for four months following the crash, which cost him his right leg.

“I couldn’t just end as a skid mark going down the freeway,” he said. “And I had to try to live.”

Instead, he wants to make a different impression. With the help of a $20,000 prosthetic leg he got through a grant, Kevitt has been training at Griffith Park to run this Sunday’s marathon.

Kevitt said he got the idea to run in the marathon two days after he was injured. He calls it a personal challenge.

But more importantly a way to draw attention to what he calls a blight on humanity.

Painful memories came back last Friday after 4-year-old Violeta Kachaturyan died in a hit-and-run in Glendale, and 21-year-old Melanie Quinonez was struck and killed in Malibu on Tuesday.

“I can’t put it more simple than the fact… if you hit someone you have to stop the car whether or not it’s your fault,” Kevitt said.

Kevitt started his road training in September – when he couldn’t even complete a mile. Earlier this month, he logged 23 miles.

“For the people who run I running to stop the people who run,” Kevitt said.

The person who hit Kevitt hasn’t been caught.