SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah – A Utah cyclist is hospitalized with serious injuries after being hit by a car in East Canyon near Little Dell Reservoir. Now police are looking for the driver responsible.
Emergency dispatchers got the call around 3:30 p.m. Monday.
A man passing by State Route 65 near Little Dell Reservoir spotted Jamie White on the side of the road.
Caller: “A cyclist has been hit by a car and he can’t move.”
White was conscious and was able to talk to dispatchers.
EMERGENCY DISPATCHER: Are you bleeding?
White: I don’t know. I don’t know. Get a paramedic here.
A Unified Police officer arrived on scene within minutes.
White said a car hit him from behind as he rode up a hill.
“Whoever hit him, had left the scene,” said Lt. Lex Bell, spokesman for Unified Police.
White describes the vehicle as a black or dark colored Honda, possibly a CRV or Element with Ski Utah or California License Plate.
Partial numbers on plate: 3YU
White is recovering at the University of Utah’s Neurocritical ICU. He underwent surgery on his spine. Doctors say everything looks good, but he’s going to need physical therapy.
His wife says he could be released in a couple of days.
“Somebody hit him and left him there without stopping or slowing down as far as we know. That’s pretty unimaginable in my opinion,” said Ed Kilbourn, White’s friend.
Kibourn is an avid cyclist. He said these types of accidents are happening way too often.
With the weather warming up, and more bicyclists on the road, Kilbourn is urging people to slow down.
“Give cyclists three feet on the side of the road that you`re passing. Be aware, be careful, and pay attention,” he said.
Bell added canyons are difficult.
“They’re dangerous based on the fact that they’re only so wide,” he said.
Anyone with information about this accident is asked to call Unified Police at 801-743-7000.
