Cyclist Lands in Hospital After Being Run Down by an SUV

An avid cyclist won’t likely be biking anytime soon after a hit-and-run driver plowed him over while he rode through Fairmount Park.

Meurig James was enjoying the nice weather Friday night by going for a training bike ride with his friend Nick Rogers.

While the duo was cycling near the Please Touch Museum, Nick says what appeared to be a white SUV traveling at a high rate of speed plowed right into James’ bike.

"It hit him good enough that he flew high in the air. And he landed in the grass next to the intersection," Rogers said.

"I thought he might have been dead."

James wasn’t dead but he was left in pretty bad shape.

"He has a broken knee cap, a broken ankle, rib fractures, he has a large collection of blood in his abdomen," said James’ girlfriend Kristie Nichols.

The injuries could have been worse if James wasn't wearing his helmet, doctors said.

The injuries still will likely keep James, a championship biker, in a hospital bed rather than on a bike for at least a few weeks, Nichols said.

There weren’t many details on the SUV that hit James but it will likely have front-end damage.

Nichols is furious that a driver could smash into her boyfriend and then decide to just drive away.

"How would they feel if their loved one was hit by a car and basically left for dead," she said.

From his hospital bed James is hoping that someone who knows something will come forward before this driver hits anyone else.

"Please come forward. If whoever did this did it who's to say they won't do it again?"

James’ employer Celerant Consulting in Philadelphia is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.

Anyone with information on the hit and run should contact Philadelphia Police.


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