CAPTAIN David Sutton will get back on the bike again, despite being struck in a hit and run accident last week.
The Point Cook father of four was taken to hospital after suffering injuries to his legs, arms and face when a driver left him for dead in an Altona Meadows side street at about 6.40am last Monday (5 June) morning.
“I thought, I am about to be hit, I saw the headlights coming for me and the next thing I remember I was on the road,” said Capt Sutton.
The lifetime cyclist underwent cosmetic surgery at Sunshine Hospital to his face the day after.
“I had to get an operation on my chin so I didn’t look like something out of Star Wars.”
The car, believed to be a red sedan, turned right into Nicholson St, which Capt Sutton crossed as he peddled straight along Queen St towards Miller Rd.
After the accident, the car was seen to stop in Nicholson Street before the driver turned off the headlights and drove away.
“If he’d just stopped, pulled over and said sorry and offered to call an ambulance and wait with me until it came – that’s the least you could ask for,” the 50-year-old said.
Adding insult to injury, it took the army project leader three attempts to flag a passing car to come to his rescue.
Capt Sutton, a resident of the Boardwalk Estate, has cycled an hour and a half each way to his St Kilda Rd workplace at the Victoria Barracks four times a week since his January relocation from Townsville.
About 50 to 60 per cent of the journey is on the road, he said.
The accident marred his safe cycling record, flinging him between five and 10 metres.
“I felt like I was doing a superman,” said Capt Sutton.
“There’s something wrong when you’re seeing the sky and the ground sideways.”
“I found out I bounce well.”
Capt Sutton said he plans to thank the two men who pulled over to help him about five minutes after the accident.
They called an ambulance, his wife Jenni, and covered him with a jacket while they waited on the curb.
The $2100 bike Capt Sutton used as “a second car” is a write-off, with extensive damage to the frame, wheels and right pedal, which snapped off.
When Star returned to the accident scene with Capt Sutton last Wednesday, a passing cyclist – who claimed to have been hit at the same spot more than a year ago – shook Capt Sutton’s hand and congratulated him for surviving.
Next year, Capt Sutton will enjoy a shorter ride to work, being based at the Australian Defence Force language school in Laverton.
Police are still seeking witnesses or information on the car and driver, who has not yet come forward. “I just hope the driver has some moral courage and comes forward,” Capt Sutton said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Altona North Police on 9392 3111 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 if you can help.
The car is expected to have damage to its front panel.
