Dragged Man to Driver: “You Almost Ruined My Life”

Steve Erskine was severely injured after being dragged by a truck near the King of Prussia Mall

Steve Erskine says he was just trying to do the right thing when he was rear-ended at a red light near the King of Prussia Mall in September.

He got out to get the other driver's information and that's when a fender-bender became a fight for his life.

"I'm trying to piece it together myself,” he said from his hospital bed.

As Erskine tried to exchange information with the man, he says the driver tried to flee. So, he reached into the truck to try and keep the man from driving off.

"I reached through his window, grabbed behind his seat in the door frame," he said.

That’s when he says the guy took off as his arm somehow got tangled.

"Anything I said, just made him go faster and faster," Erskine said recalling the Sept. 18 incident. Police say the man was dragged 200 feet before he broke free of the truck.

Erskine doesn’t remember if the tires ran over him, but he ended up with a crushed pelvis, five broken ribs, a collapsed lung and severe road rash. He is recovering at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, but it may be months before he can walk again.

So, yes, it bothers him that the man who left him severely hurt is walking free.

"I hope that the guy has some kind of morals and turns himself in 'cause he shouldn't be doing this to people," he said.

He's hoping someone will recognize the person in a sketch of a Hispanic man in his 30s released by police on Thursday.

Erskine says the man was driving a sliver or white extended cab Chevy Silverado, perhaps a 2000 model.

A traffic camera on Route 202 captured an almost useless image of the hit-and-run. Erskine thinks the truck will have damage on the front bumper from hitting his trailer hitch.

"Just go ahead and turn yourself in,” he said in a message to the driver. “You didn't ruin my truck, but you almost ruined my life."

Upper Merion Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives.

Here's a sketch of the suspect:

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