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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Reporter: Chris Buckley

Fifty-year old John Smalls is still in a medically-induced coma.  He was hit on his way home from work, the Denny's on South Circle Drive, early Saturday morning, and the driver left the scene.

Almost immediately, his co-workers started talking about how they could help.

"Right after we heard, my staff had already started collection donations and came to me with the idea to take donations to help the family with their medical bills," General Manager Kim Rivera said.  "We've taken some to them already."

She described Smalls, a server's assistant at the restaurant, as friendly and kind, and said he's become an integral part of the team over the past few months.

"He fits right in, he does whatever needs to be done, he's just a great employee," Rivera said.

There are donation bins at four additional Denny's restaurants:

315 W. Bijou
302 N. Academy
8125 N. Academy
3600 Freeway Road in Pueblo.

Family members update the restaurants management daily.  So far, they say Smalls is getting better every day, but there's still a lot of swelling.  Still, his co-workers remain hopeful they'll see him back in uniform soon.

"We're going to hold his job for him as long as he needs it," Rivera said.