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SALT LAKE COUNTY -- Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies are searching for the hit-and-run driver who left a 57-year-old man in critical condition Thursday night. Now an anonymous donor is offering an award for the driver's identity.
The victim was riding his bicycle Thursday evening near 6200 South and Wasatch Boulevard when he was hit. "The bicyclist went over the hood, smashed into the windshield and was essentially unconscious on the road," said Lt. Don Hutson, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
According to witnesses, the driver got out, looked at the bicyclist, then got back into the car and sped away. Hutson says several people tried to chase down the driver, but he was going too fast.
The victim is still in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center with several broken bones and head injuries.
People living in the area say they are shocked and angry at the driver.
Jeff Zmislo said, "People are just amazing sometimes, how they can be cruel like that."
Jeanette Lancaster agreed. "I just can't believe people would do that," she said.
"I think the only conclusion that you can draw is that they had done something wrong," Hutson said. "That would be the only explanation as to why you would leave the scene."
Witnesses say there was also a woman in the car. "I hope they find them. There's enough cars out here. Someone could have seen something. Hopefully, someone will do the right thing," Lancaster said.
The car is described as a newer-model, white sedan -- possibly a 2-door BMW. "It's going to have some very significant damage to the front end, hood and windshield," Hutson said.
The public and auto body repair shops are being asked to keep their eyes open. Dave's Body Shop general manager Stan Ware says the damage on a car that's hit a person often looks similar to a car that's hit a deer, but with some small but key differences.
"The situation where there was blood and no deer hair to go with it. That would be a definite indication something was up," Ware said.
The case joins a list of unsolved hit and runs for now, including one that happened in Salt Lake City in 2007. In that incident, a man biking home with his wife was run down by a white delivery truck.
Investigators still hope to close the case, just as people living near 6200 South and Wasatch Boulevard hope to see a resolution to this hit-and-run. "For them to leave someone or anything is unreal. It's unacceptable," Lancaster said.
If you have information in the 2007 case, you're asked to call Salt Lake police at 801-799-INFO.
The case from Thursday is being handled by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. To help in the search, an anonymous donor has stepped up, offering a $2,500 reward for the driver's identity.
If you have any information on the accident or the vehicle involved, contact the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office at 801-743-7000.
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Story compiled with contributions from Sarah Dallof, Whit Johnson, and Randall Jeppesen.
