A Florida woman was allegedly using her phone to shop online when she struck a local sheriff who was riding a bike and then drove off. Paige Bergman, 20, was later arrested for hit and run after striking Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood around Town West Blvd. and Daylily Street in Port Orange, leading to him being hospitalized with minor injuries. Thankfully, he’s expected to make a full recovery.
- The Sheriff’s Office put out a statement following the incident. “Good news first: He’s OK. But Mike Chitwood was hit on his bike this afternoon in Port Orange,” they wrote on Facebook. “He’s being transported with minor injuries but he’s in good spirits. The crash occurred around 4:30 at Town West Blvd./Daylily St. Thanks for your well wishes & patience for further info.”
- Sheriff Chitwood took to Facebook himself to share an update. In the post, he revealed that he was experiencing “some road rash, a few stitches on the gash from the passenger side mirror and a fractured fibula that the doctors hope will heal on its own.” He added that he considers himself lucky to have escaped with relatively minor injuries and is glad to be getting back on his feet soon.
- While he had a stark warning for people who use their phone while driving, he seems to forgive Bergman. “The young lady who hit me is in custody on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury. She says she was shopping on Amazon on her phone when she hit me. Please let this be a warning to put your phones down while you’re driving before you kill someone,” Sheriff Chitwood continued in the post. “I know this young woman had no intention of running me down. That’s what a lot of distracted drivers say after they cause a tragedy. Just imagine if that had been a child or an elderly person on that bike, or if the car drifted a couple more inches to the right.”
- Bergman was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury. Deputies arrested her after finding her in her car in her family’s driveway. According to the Associated Press, she claimed at the time that she hit a mailbox. However, video of the scene was recorded and provided from a waste disposal services truck that showed the truth.
