OCEAN BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) - Speaking from his hospital bed an Ocean Beach teen pleading for tips after he was nearly killed in a hit-and-run crash while on his electric bike.
“I'm supposed to start college. He took everything from me,” said Alex Ash, choking back tears.
Alex, 17, spoke to ABC 10News over Zoom a day after his second surgery
“To move my legs, it’s a 10 of 10 for pain,” said Alex.
On Friday, March 3, at around 6:30 p.m., Alex was wrapping up a ride on his E-Bike on Catalina Boulevard, approaching Narragansett Avenue, just blocks from his home.
He says he moved into the intersection to turn left, yielding on a green light, when suddenly, he says a dark, speeding SUV was right behind him.
In the surveillance video, you can see small light from the E-Bike. Moments later, an SUV enters the frame before striking Alex.
“I felt the impact, essentially backflipping two or three times. I proceeded to land on my pelvis,” said Alex.
Alex says after the SUV sped away, he tried to walk but couldn't.
"I was just saying, ‘Please no, please no,’ because I thought I was paralyzed,” said Alex.
He wasn't, but at the hospital, tests showed he fractured his pelvis in three places. His leg had jammed into his hipbone. Internal bleeding in his bladder was life-threatening. His first surgery saved his life.
“I was very close to dying,” said Alex.
Alex, a senior at The Charter School of San Diego with college plans, says he'll be in a wheelchair for more than six months thanks to one driver's callous actions.
“To leave someone, as far as they know, killing them. That’s the worst thing you could do,” said Alex.
Alex is now appealing to the public for leads.
“He could have stayed, he could have taken accountability, but he didn’t, and I really want see him get justice,” said Alex.
The SUV is believed to be a 2016 or 2017 black Jeep Grand Cherokee with chrome accents on the grill. There may be damage on the passenger side mirror and the wheel well trim.
The family is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call SDPD Traffic Division Sgt. Victoria Houseman at 858-573-5067 or vhouseman@pd.sandiego.gov, or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
