UPDATE (6/2/09): After some confusion about the case being closed, Nick reports that the case is indeed open and that the Denton Police Department is actively seeking the car in question. Please, please keep your eyes peeled for this vehicle and report it to the police if you see it.
Reiteration: the car in question is a a boxy maroon rusty Oldsmobile. 9WG-TK (with handicapped symbol). It might still have a broken windshield from the impact of Nick’s head.
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The above picture is real.
Steel is real.
Helmets can save lives.
Local cyclist and Querencia volunteer, Nick Magruder, was riding on Bonnie Brae north of University when a driver hit him from behind last Wednesday night at about 9:15. Nick was using the famously bright Planet Bike Superflash rear light, so visibility should not have been a problem.
Nick says:
I’m posting to ask everyone in the Denton area to keep a look out for a driver who ran me down last Wednesday night and took off with blatant disregard for the life of another human. This driver is obviously an incredible danger to anyone on our roads. The details are as follows;
I was riding south on Bonnie Brae just north of University at about 9:15PM on Wednesday the 13th by myself. Bonnie Brae is a wide open, four lane road with “Share the Road” signs every 20 yards or so and light traffic. I was on my road bike with my superflash turned on, and good reflectivity on my shoes and helmet. The car came from behind in my lane and without slowing, veering, swerving or braking at all, slammed into my rear wheel at about 35-40, throwing me onto the hood. My helmet broke his windshield at least a small amount, because I had bits of glass in my helmet and on my arms. I blacked out for about a quarter of a second and came to laying back-down on the hood, still going down the road at about 35 mph. Not wanting the driver to slam on his brakes and throw me, I rolled myself off the driver’s side of the car, giving me bad road rash on my knees, arms and a deep gash on my hip. He didn’t seem to slow down at all through the whole incident and just rolled on down the road, not even speeding off in a hurry. My cell phone and superflash came off in the wreck, I expect onto the driver’s hood. I stopped the next car and called 911. I was about a quarter mile from a fire station and half a mile from a hospital, good place for a wreck. I gave a full report to the police and then went to the hospital to get checked out. Not a single break, sprain or even a minor concussion. I was wearing a Bell Volt, and it stayed completely intact except for internal cracks, I HIGHLY recommend this helmet after seeing its performance. Anyway, the description of the car, as I and another witness at the scene described is;
An older (80s-early 90s) boxy maroon sedan with (from the other witness, relayed to me through a Denton Officer) disabled veterans plates. The witness also saw the driver stop and pickup my taillight, in order to hide the evidence. I am also pretty sure that they stole my cell phone, since it most likely came out of my jersey pocket onto their hood. No one got a license plate number at the scene.
I posted all of this info to my Facebook that night, and on Saturday a friend of mine noticed a car that was very close to the description. He was behind an older reddish/brown Oldsmobile with handicapped license plates, and a crack in the driver’s side of the windshield. He got the license plate number, which was 9WG-TK (with handicapped symbol). My friend wasn’t at the scene, so this second sighting is only possibly the same driver, but the odds seem very unlikely that it wouldn’t be.
As of tonight, Wednesday the 20th I haven’t heard anything from the police on the case, supposedly the hit and run detective was off last week. If you see this car, please call 911 and relay this info to the operator and the location of the car. We can’t let this incredibly dangerous and heartless driver continue to drive freely on our streets. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ncm200@gmail.com
