BOULDER, Colo. — Just over nine months ago, Andrew Bernstein's life changed in an instant.
"To the driver who hit me and ran, I was biking home when you barreled into me with your car and left me to die," he said on Tuesday.
On July 20, 2019, Bernstein was riding his bike westbound on the right shoulder of Highway 7, also called Arapahoe Road, around 4:30 p.m., when he was struck, according to the Colorado State Patrol (CSP).
"I had severe injuries," he said. "Thirty broken bones, including several vertebrae in my back."
Because of those injuries, he said he'll likely never walk again without some type of assistance. He shared his story this week in an essay in Outside Magazine with the goal of shedding light on the dangers posed by automobiles.
"You plowed into me from behind when I was riding on a nearly empty road," he wrote to the person who hit him. "Your van hit me with such violence that pieces of your vehicle and mine scattered across the grassy embankment. The impact flung my body through the air and I landed at the bottom of a roadside ditch."
CSP is investigating the hit-and-run. Last August, the van believed to be involved in the crash was located, but so far, no one has been arrested or charged.
"I want to pass on this message of safety. We all need to be [a] careful driver," he said. "We all need to look out for each other. And we need to remember that while our cars are primarily modes of transportation, they're also very dangerous; they're not intended to be, but they are."
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