After Crash That Killed Husband, Hastings Woman Wants Answers
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Hastings woman is making a public appeal, trying to get information about a driver she believes caused the crash that killed her husband.
Gerald Ryder, 77, was on Highway 55 in Hastings around 10:30 a.m. on May 20 when a witness says a grey sedan cut him off.
That driver left the scene, and Ryder's widow, Sharon, is hoping someone can provide information that can lead to information about who that driver is.
"His whole left side was crushed," she said.
Her husband died two and a half weeks after suffering critical injuries in the crash in Hastings.
"He hit the median down the cornfield and rolled over five times," Sharon Ryder said.
Ryder says she believes the driver of a grey car, possibly a Dodge charger, is responsible for his death. One witness told the state patrol the grey car cut her husband off.
"Witnesses got the make and color of the car, but it happened so fast they didn't get a license number," Sharon Ryder said.
Witnesses also did not get any description of the driver. The state patrol says while the investigation is ongoing, and so far their accident reconstruction indicates that the grey car may not have caused the accident -- that it is possible Ryder may have lost control.
The state patrol said they do hope the driver does come forward so they can ask him or her some questions. Sharon Ryder wants to know why the driver left the scene.
"He took off. He didn't even care," Ryder said.
Sharon Ryder is offering a $5,000 reward leading to the prosecution and conviction of the driver of that car. A state patrol spokesperson said it is not clear even if they can determine who the driver is - if that driver will face any charges at all.
