Police investigate whether stolen Kia struck bicyclist in Minneapolis, causing severe brain injury
MINNEAPOLIS – Police are investigating whether a stolen Kia is responsible for a hit-and-run that left a woman with a severe brain injury.
A black Kia struck Jeanne Tweet as she rode her bike to the library in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis on April 5. It happened along East 35th Street near 33rd Avenue South.
"She was hit from behind and the bike is pretty messed up. She got nine broken ribs, broken collarbone and a major skull fracture," said sister Jody Doree. "And seeing [her bike] being destroyed like that kind of made me think about what her brain must be like."
Tweet, a long-time cyclist, has been recovering at Hennepin Healthcare since April 5 in the ICU, and is now in a program doing intensive rehab.
"[The helmet] saved her life, for what life she'll have, but yeah," Doree said. "She'll never be the same. She won't probably be able to live alone again."
Doctors told her their main goal is to get Tweet to a place where she can do self-care. As her family focuses on her recovery, they wonder who could have left the scene.
"Accidents happen. If it was an accident, stop, you know. I don't understand," Doree said. "I can't think that someone could just drive away, you know. I just can't."
Doree says police told her the passenger-side mirror was left behind at the crash site. That's how they know it's a black Kia SUV.
"They think that it probably is the stolen cars, the youth just out driving around," she said.
MORE: Thefts prompt Minnesota, 16 other states to urge recall of Kia, Hyundai cars
She worries for others who decide to ride, and hopes talking about what happened to her sister helps raise awareness.
"Talking about it can help one person not have it happen to them, to be more aware," she said. "But it certainly might save your life."
If you know anything about the hit-and-run, or spot a black Kia without a passenger-side mirror, please report it to police.
So far this year, 3,049 cars have been stolen in Minneapolis. That's double this time last year (1,461). Police report stolen Kia and Hyundai's account for roughly 70% of them in the city.
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office has joined a coalition of 18 other attorney general's calling for a national recall of the theft-prone cars.
