PORT ORANGE, Fla. — The woman accused of hitting Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood while he was riding his bike in Port Orange on Thursday told deputies she was shopping on Amazon on her phone when the crash occurred, according to the sheriff.
Paige Bergman, 20, is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury.
At about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Chitwood was struck by a car while he road his bike in the 1600 block of Town West Boulevard in Port Orange.
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Police said the Bergman fled the scene.
The vehicle was described as a 2004 to 2006 maroon Hyundai Sonata, with the right-side mirror missing as a result of the crash, police said.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office assisted Port Orange police by locating the vehicle in the 3000 block of Sardinia Terrace, Deltona, where Bergman was arrested.
Chitwood was taken to Halifax Health for his injuries. He broke his fibula, needed several stitches and has some road rash, but was back at work on Friday.
Chitwood said when the accident happened all he could think about was Deputy Frank Scofield, who was killed two years ago riding his bike and former NBA player Shawn Bradley who was recently paralyzed riding his.
“I was hit so hard that she knocked me out of my shoes,” Chitwood said.
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Chitwood said the crash was caught on camera by a Waste Pro truck. The driver of the truck, Allen Ramos, parked to help Chitwood after witnessing the crash.
“The car just swerved to the right and just hit him and they ended up slowing down and sped up and left the scene,” Ramos said.
See that video below:
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Port Orange Police Department Traffic Homicide Investigator Phillip Slease at 386-506-5838.
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This is the second time that Chitwood has been hit by a vehicle while cycling in recent years.
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