CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – A Chesterfield bicyclist is now recovering from surgery and thankful to be alive, after he was hit by an SUV and left lying in the road March 3 on Springford Parkway.
Chesterfield Police said they are still looking for the driver who hit the man with a 5,000 pound Chevrolet Suburban, catapulting him onto the road.
Bryan Creador was left with several broken bones, and bandages covered one side of his body from the road rash incurred during the crash.
“I’m just happy to be alive,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Creador said he was biking on Springford Parkway towards Winterpock Road, just three minutes from his home, when the Suburban smashed into him and drove away.
His wife, Ashlee Creador, said she remembers getting the call from a good samaritan who stopped to help.
“It was really scary,” Ashlee Creador said. “Panic just set in.”
A second person stopped to help and called an ambulance.
During an interview with 8News on Monday, Bryan Creador’s son, Nathan Creador, said his father was tough.
Bryan Creador’s bike was left with little to no damage. He believes it’s because he may have subconsciously kicked it out of the road.
“I think I might have been just squirreling around like a worm left and right because I was kind of disoriented at that point,” he said.
Police said the Suburban’s passenger side could have damage to the fender, mirror and possibly door.
The family hopes whoever hit Bryan Creador will admit it. “I hope they feel guilty enough to come forward,” Ashley Creador said.
Bryan Creador is now asking drivers to keep their eyes open for cyclists.
“What if it was a child there? Some teenager riding? Someone’s grandpa riding out there? Dad? And they could’ve gotten hit and pretty much just left for dead,” he said.
According to Virginia law, if a hit-and-run accident results in the person being injured or dying, the person convicted of the violation is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
The law states that the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident in which a person is killed or injured or in which an attended vehicle or property is damaged is required to stop close to the scene. They must then provide their information to police and to the person injured or to someone nearby that can help.
Chesterfield Police said they are still investigating the incident, and ask for anyone with information on the hit-and-run to call Crime Solvers or Chesterfield Officer D.W. Gulick, Jr. at 804-751-4953 or email him at GulickDW@chesterfield.gov.
