Social media users are sharing a pair of images they claim show the consequences of a recent car crash.
The first picture shows a man lying in a hospital bed, while the other appears to show first responders tending to a car crash victim.
"Please help! This young man hit by a car few hours ago (sic) here in Putnam Valley," reads the caption of one Oct. 20 Facebook post. "We couldn’t find any ID on him and he is still unconscious. Please help bump this post so that his friends or family may find him."
The post, which garnered more than 70 shares in six days, has its comments turned off. A similar post claiming the incident occurred in Belton, Texas, was shared more than 600 times in one day before it was deleted.
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The pair of pictures have been shared widely on other Facebook groups as well, with versions of the post claiming the accident occurred in towns such as Fairbanks, Alaska; Eudora, Kansas; and Dade City, Florida. Iterations of the post have also been shared on Instagram.
The claims are false. A spokesperson for the Belton Police Department said the posts are a hoax. The man in the picture is an online content creator named Alex Stokes who landed in the hospital in 2019 after his appendix ruptured.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
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