Mattydale (WSYR-TV) -- A Mattydale family is asking the driver behind a hit and run crash that sent their daughter to the hospital to come forward.
The 16-year-old girl was riding her bike along Route 11 Thursday night when she was hit.
It’s a route that Kourtney Van Middendorpe has taken countless times on her bike. Last Thursday night, at around 9:15 p.m., she was headed to meet up with her brothers. As she passed in front of the Iron Horse Saloon, she says a car pulling out of the parking lot came out of nowhere.
“I was coming down from my house with my friends Dave and Robbie,” Kourtney said. "I remember the impact...I don't remember standing up after I got hit, because my whole body went numb. I just remember seeing lights coming at me."
Kourtney was hit so hard that she was thrown from her bike and she landed in the road with oncoming traffic headed straight at her.
“It’s terrifying. She could have died. She was hit so hard she didn’t have time to put her hands down…she landed on her face,” Kourtney’s mom, Mechelle Hickman said.
Bleeding from her chin, the friends with her say she was able to get herself out of the road. The driver asked if she was okay. While in shock, not realizing her injuries, she said yes and continued to ride her bike as the driver drove off. Minutes later, friends and family called 911 and Kourtney was rushed to the hospital.
At the hospital, she went in and out of consciousness and was confused. She had a concussion and received stitches on her chin, leaving her family unable to understand why the driver didn’t stop to call for help and the police.
"You should never leave the scene of an accident, especially anytime a person is injured...it's just ridiculous. It's unconscionable,” Mechelle said.
Kourtney says she was riding against the flow of traffic and now with it, as bicyclists are supposed to do and she wasn’t wearing a helmet. Even though the driver did stop, by law, a driver is required to call police and report the accident. That’s why the Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
The car that hit Kourtney is described as a silver or gray, four-door BMW that was driven by a male, possibly with darker skin. If you have any information, call the Sheriff’s Office 435-3051.
