This is a hit-and-run driver story with a happy ending; at least the bicyclist victim is alive to talk about it.
I wrote about this case back in February, shortly after a motorist hit the Fircrest, Washington, bicyclist, dragged her and her bicycle to the side of the road, then drove off and disappeared into the morning twilight.
Tacoma News Tribune reporters have tracked down and interviewed the victim, Sandy Johnston, 67, who sounds like she's keeping amazingly upbeat about her situation. They've also reported on statements in the court documents, which defy belief.
The ride
For 28 years, Johnston says she used to leave very early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays — like before 5 a.m. — to ride to her friend's house. Then they'd go for a ride, visiting towns and landmarks around rural Pierce County. They liked the mornings because there was little traffic.
On Feb. 17, she was on her way to her friend's house when she was struck by a motorist in an intersection. She remembers checking the intersection, then seeing headlights coming from her left. She doesn't recall anything else.
A jogger found her 10 minutes later. There was a pool of blood in the street and a smear of blood from the street onto the sidewalk where Johnston was laying unconcious. It was 33 degrees. The jogger called 911.
Recovery
Johnston's leg and collarbone were broken. She spent 12 days in the hospital. In spite of a titanium rod in her leg, she still can't walk on it. She told a reporter:
“The bones are mending. At least I have the leg. They said I could easily have lost it.”
She also cannot ride a bicycle and doesn't know if she will be able to again.
The driver
The newspaper says the attorney for the driver, Sabrina Michelle Stanford, 19, calls the collision “an unfortunate accident.”
Based on a statement she gave prosecutors, the teen admitted hitting Johnston in the intersection. She thought a rock or an animal had hit the windshield, cracking it. When she got out she found the woman laying in the street. The newspaper reports:
“The young woman told authorities she then dragged Johnston, who had blood seeping through her pants leg, to the side of the street and left when the bicyclist said, 'I think I’m fine,' according to charging documents.”
Excuses
When she got home (she had sneaked out of the house and was driving her parent's Mercedes with a suspended learner's permit), she told her parents that someone at a party had thrown a brick through the windshield. She 'fessed up to her parents a couple of days later when they saw news reports about the hit-and-run and asked her about it.
The News Tribune said the driver has been charged …
“… with one count of failure to remain at the scene of an injury accident. The charge is a felony and punishable by up to five years in prison, although the standard sentencing range for someone with no criminal record is three to nine months in jail.”
After reading these stories, I'm relieved that Johnston is on the mend and I hope she gets to ride bikes with her friend again one day. I also wonder how people think they can get away with something like this.
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