Cyclist recovering from second hit-and-run

Raleigh, N.C. — Bicyclist Jason Jennette remembers flying through the air “like a rag doll” in a collision with a car.

Jennette, the victim of a hit and run collision Monday, said he was struck while riding his motorized bicycle on Western Boulevard approaching Nazareth Street.

The crash left the Jennette, of Benson, bed-ridden with a pelvis broken in two spots.

“There’s so many things that you take for granted…being able to walk into the next room,” he said Saturday.

Jennette said his doctors aren't sure how long he'll be bed-ridden, but this isn’t the first time Jennette has been hit by a car while riding his bike.

Nearly a decade ago, another hit and run driver struck him in the eastern part of the state.

“It’s not acceptable for someone to hit somebody and leave them on the side of the road,” he said.

For seven years Jennette worked at the All-Star Bike Shop, 1427 S.E. Maynard St. in Cary. Shop owner Don Oster said he is trying to raise money to help Jennette.

Jennette's incident by Nazareth Street was the second bicycle-related crash there in less than a month.

In April, police said North Carolina State student Brian Anthony Reid, 21, struck bicyclist Nancy Leidy. Leidy, 60, died from her injuries. Reid is charged with felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired and failure to reduce speed in connection with the incident.

Jennette said the people who struck him in both situations were never found.

Each year more than 900 crashes involving bicyclists are reported. Most accidents occur between May and September.

May is National Bicycle Safety Month.