Victim of a hit-and-run crash speaks to Fox 4
Howard VanPelt was seriously injured on his scooter
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Naples man injured in hit and run accident Video by fox4now.com
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NAPLES, Fla.- A hit-and-run crash seriously injured a Naples man on Thursday morning. The crash happened around 1:30am.
Banged up and bruised, but lucky to be able to talk about his early morning accident.
"I just felt an impact and then I'm laying on the road with my head with blood gushing out," said Howard VanPelt.
47-year-old Howard VanPelt is now home and sporting hospital scrubs and a leg brace.
Howard was headed home around 1:30 in the morning after working 2 jobs. He was riding his scooter on Golden Gate Parkway when he noticed headlights behind him.
"Somebody came up from behind me at I-75 Golden Gate overpass and had to be going 50-60 mph never hit the breaks and slammed into the back of me," said VanPelt.
The driver dashed and never stopped to help. Now paralyzed by pain and fear, he laid on the road and only had enough strength to rollover, just so oncoming traffic wouldn't hit him.
"When I'd see blood gushing out of my head and my jacket and all my clothes covered in blood I thought I was going to die bleeding to death."
But during his darkest hours, a bright spot.
"I never caught her name, but thank God she saw me. She called 911 and they were there pronto," said VanPelt.
A picture shows VanPelt's head injuries. VanPelt said he got nearly 30 stitches. He says he can forgive the driver who hit me, but wished they would admit they made a mistake.
"I can't go to work. I need to provide and I can't do that because somebody blind sided me and kept going."
FHP is looking for a car involved in the crash. They believe it is a 1996 Chrysler Sebring. The car has damage to its headlights.
If you have any information on the crash please contact FHP at 239-938-1800.
Howard VanPelt now has thousands of dollars worth of medical bills and no transportation to get to work. If you're interested in helping him please call 239-601-0611.
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