Nov. 2 was a day one family will never forget and one they wished had never happened. A 59-year-old man was helping his wife after she ran out of gas when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while standing in the bike path waiting to cross the road. The man is now in intensive care and appears to be paralyzed from the chest down. He has multiple vertebrae fractions, and a pinched artery that is cutting off the blood supply to his spinal cord. In addition, he is suffering from severe head trauma.
The man’s wife said that he was thrown eight to 10 feet into the air when the car hit him. The accident occurred close to the intersection of Howard and Forest Home. The man allegedly parked his truck across the road from his wife, carried the gasoline over to her and was attempting to go back to his truck. The family is clearly distraught as the husband and father lays in the ICU, unable to breathe without help.
A woman has been charged in the hit-and-run auto accident. A mirror and frame from the passenger side of her car was found at the accident site, and an officer was able to detect the make and model of the vehicle from the serial numbers it contained. Surprisingly, it was the woman’s son who contacted the police and informed them of his mother’s damaged vehicle the next morning. He was also able to place her in the area where the accident occurred, as he claimed she had gone to visit his sister.
The 48-year-old woman claimed that she did not remember hitting anyone. She stated that she may have blacked out due to low blood sugar. She had been pulled over earlier in the evening by a Milwaukee police officer for a defective headlight. The woman is facing charges and may be looking at a 15-year sentence if she is convicted.
The family of the victim is glad that the hit-and-run driver has been found and arrested, but stated that their heartache remains. Their loved one can no longer walk, talk or even breathe on his own. There is no mention at this time if they will attempt to hold the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle accountable for the personal injuries the man must endure, as well as the heartache of the family.
Source:
Fox6now.com, “Woman charged in connection with hit-and-run that put man in ICU” Jenna Sachs, Nov. 07, 2013
