Victim Of Cobbs Creek Hit-And-Run Speaks Out
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Only on Eyewitness News – the victim of a hit-and-run speaks out.
One minute, the victim was on his bike; the next, he was on the ground with severe injuries.
It all unfolded near 61st and Baltimore in Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek neighborhood.
Tuesday night, Eyewitness News spoke to the victim at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where the victim is recovering.
Willie Brown recalled, "I looked at myself in the mirror and said, 'Is that me? Wow'."
If being hospitalized with a cracked skull, a broken nose and other head and neck injuries weren't bad enough, Brown of West Philadelphia must now rely on a wheel chair to get around until one day he can hopefully get back on his feet.
"I'm going to therapy in the morning time to learn to walk again," Brown said.
Brown's fiancée, Erika Hardaway, is now hoping someone watching at home can help this couple get some answers.
Hardaway said, "It's heartbreaking to see him like that. Nobody deserves that, somebody who did something like that, they are heartless."
It was last Thursday night, Brown says he was riding his bike home along Baltimore Avenue when near the 61st street corner someone hit him and kept going.
"This is the result of someone not following the rules of driving a vehicle, that's why they gave us a bike lane," Brown said.
Police confirm they were called to the scene shortly after 9:30pm. By the time officers arrived, the driver was long gone. Brown was in the middle of the road bloodied and knocked unconscious.
Brown added, "Someone did leave a pink blanket next to me, I still have it."
It is unknown if that was the work of the driver or a Good Samaritan. Whatever the case, the 52-year-old hopes the driver has a conscience.
"The person who done this to me, I would like for you to just come and say you're sorry," Brown said.
Brown says he blacked out the minute he hit the ground. He, therefore, has no memory of the car or the driver.
Investigators tell us, unfortunately, they have nothing to go on. They're asking anyone with information to contact the Philadelphia Police Department's Accident Investigation Division at 215-685-3180 or 3181.
