JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man is spending Thanksgiving in a hospital bed as he recovers from a hit-and-run that happened early November while driving his motorcycle in Jacksonville.
On Nov. 5, Stephen Roberts, 63, was riding his motorcycle on Busch Drive when he was hit.
That crash resulted in him having multiple surgeries, one to get his right foot amputated.
“It snapped my leg in two places,” he said.
Roberts spoke to News4JAX from his hospital bed on Thursday. He said getting hit while riding his motorcycle was something he never expected to happen to him.
“I’ve got family coming up to bring me Thanksgiving dinner up here and everything,” Roberts said.
Roberts said someone driving a gray SUV coming out of this intersection hit him and didn’t stop.
“I can’t believe someone would take off like that when someone is lying in the middle of the road. They could be dying,” Roberts said.
The man said he’s been riding motorcycles for decades, and this is the first time he’s been involved in a crash with a vehicle.
The 63-year-old remembers seeing blood coming from his leg and people immediately rushing to help him.
“I had two main arteries going to my foot that wasn’t getting blood going to my toes and stuff there so either they could keep it…” Roberts said. “But the best deal was to have it taken off right there above the ankle there.”
Roberts said he’s not sure how much longer he will be in the hospital until he’s transferred to a full rehab center — but he said life from now on will be different.
“I don’t have but one leg or one foot now so I’m not going to be able to do a lot of stuff I enjoy doing,” Roberts said.
Roberts is asking anyone who knows information about the hit and run to reach out to police so he can get justice.