FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – According to the Florida Highway Patrol, on Saturday, Feb. 27, Rick Reilly and his girlfriend were out riding his motorcycle on I-95 in Fort Lauderdale when their worst nightmare occurred — they were struck by a vehicle that fled the scene.
Luckily, both of them are expected to make full recoveries. However, they are searching for closure, and are looking for the person responsible.
Reilly knows he is lucky to be alive. “I still, when I close my eyes, every time I can hear that impact,” says Reilly.
According to Reilly, at about 10 p.m., he and his girlfriend were hit from behind while riding on his Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
“We were struck with such amazing force, it was unimaginable,” he says of the traumatic incident. “It sounded like an explosion, and then — blackness.”
The driver who hit the couple drove off, and never pulled over to help.
Rick’s girlfriend, whose identity is being kept anonymous, was thrown off the motorcycle to the left, and Reilly flew off to the right. Then, the couple both skidded and rolled across the highway. When they finally stopped, they were badly torn up and bruised — but alive.
“The miraculous thing is that neither one of us has any broken bones, we’re just really banged up,” he says.
The two were taken to the hospital, but have since been released. They are now expected to make full recoveries.
Unfortunately, the person responsible for the accident has yet to turn themselves in and is nowhere to be found.
Now, Reilly and his girlfriend are pleading with the person to do the right thing and take responsibility for the incident.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, they believe the car that hit them may have been a black Volkswagen Jetta or a similar vehicle. If you know anything that can help, please call the Florida Highway Patrol or Broward Crimestoppers at 954-493-TIPS.