A Lancaster, PA, man was struck by a speeding car Saturday night after his motorcycle ran out of gas on the side of Route 1 near Kingsville, according to Baltimore County police Lt. Ron Brooks.
Andrew Pearson, 19, suffered a cracked tibia and ripped ligaments in his knee after attempting to dive out of the way when he saw the car coming, according to his Perry Hall girlfriend Alex Spiroff. He is currently resting at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Cente where he recently underwent surgery to repair his damaged left leg.
"Besides that he's doing pretty good," Spiroff said. "He's a high spirited guy, doing the best he can."
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While her boyfriend rests, Spiroff and her family have been busy searching for the individual responsible. Since Saturday, a Facebook status seeking information about the collision has been "Shared" 360 times, Spiroff said. The family hopes that casting a wide social media net might dredge up useful information.
It was about 10 p.m. Saturday when Pearson called his girlfriend and her father to help him with his motorcycle. At the time, he didn't know why his 2003 Shadow Spirit 750 had stalled. He pulled his bike over on the narrow shoulder just past the intersection of Belair and Mt. Vista roads and waited for Spiroff and her father's toolbox.
Brooks confirmed police responded to the 911 call at about 10:13 p.m. The culprit is believed to have continued driving northbound on Route 1, although the matter remains under investigation.
When Spiroff and her father pulled up to the intersection they, "thought there were just nice people who pulled over to help," Spiroff said remembering two trucks that were also parked near the intersection.
Minutes earlier, Pearson said he remember seeing a small sedan—possibly a Honda Civic—coming his way. He said he thought it was Spiroff's father who also drives a small sedan, until he realized the car wasn't slowing down.
Pearson said he dove out of the way, but the car still clipped the lower part of his left leg. The collision actually caused substantial damage to the small sedan, according to Spiroff, whose father recovered a "foot-long piece of the car" that had broken off after striking Pearson's steel-toed boots.
Aside from a detached left mirror, "the bike is pretty much untouched," Spiroff said.
Why you don't stop, is indicative of a coward or a drunk.
I live 4 houses North of that intersection along Belair Road and it is truly a raceway! I hear cars and motorcycles racing by at very high rates of speed at all times of the day/night. That intersection Mt. Vista and Belair Road and passed my home have had multiple accidents within the past 10 months. As much as I love living in Kingsville, I have decided to move just because of the traffic along that stretch of road - it is very dangerous. Mr. Pearson, I think God was looking over you that night, you are very blessed! Again, I wish you a speedy recovery!
It just bothers me that every time something like this happens everyone is so quick to jump on speed, when I don't really think that's the issue. I think people like to blame it on that because they see it as an easily fixable problem rather than the bigger issue of how do we stop people from being stupid and driving distracted (include aggressive drivers here too, they're distracted by their impatience). Kind of like the people that want to put a band-aid on a wound that clearly needs stitches. It's too damn easy to get a driver's license in the US. We could certainly learn something from Europe on that front.
What really bothers me here is the lack of police action. No investigation was made, as the article suggests, and the police have done nothing to apprehend the criminal. By creating a large social media presence, we received tips of two gold Honda sedans with front passenger side damage, and reported their plate numbers to the police. They did not look up the vehicle owners, nor did they attempt to locate the vehicles themselves. They have not attempted to acquire surveillance footage from local stores for that time, and have made no effort to identify the perpetrator. Meanwhile, I have been laying crippled in bed for nearly one month and will not walk for months more because a reckless, careless driver struck me and escaped conviction. Please take it upon yourselves to bring this criminal to justice. A gold Honda Prelude with MD plate 7AW3547 and a gold Honda Civic with MD plate 8BAF35 are the current suspects. Please report these plates to your local police officers, it's the only way to possibly bring this cowardly driver to justice.