Despite two broken knees and a fractured ankle, a retired San Diego Police lieutenant says he feels lucky to be alive after a hit-and-run crash during a funeral procession sent him flying 20 feet in the air.
Gary Morris, a 30-year veteran of the SDPD, was one of two motorcyclists securing roads for the motorcade traveling from St. Rita’s Church to Greenwood Memorial Park Monday afternoon.
As it passed 45th Street and Imperial Avenue, Morris started making a U-turn to catch up.
"I hear screeching, bang. Next thing I know I’m on my back, and this guy was going eastbound I guess. And he must have been moving pretty good because when I looked up there, he wasn't coming,” said Morris in an exclusive interview with NBC 7 from his hospital bed.
Investigators say the driver was going about 80 mph on the city street before slamming on the breaks and striking Morris from behind, going at least 25 mph at the time of impact.
Morris was sent flying 20 feet into the air, witness Jesse Ortega told NBC 7.
“I did not see it, I heard it” said Gary Stewart, Morris’s partner who is also a retired SDPD officer now working for the private company called California Motor Patrol. “I turned around and looked and saw smoke coming from the car that applied its brakes and Gary flying through the air.”
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He then saw Morris lying on the ground with his motorcycle wrapped around a traffic pole.
The sedan didn’t make any attempt to stop and almost drove into other vehicles as it sped away from the scene, according to Ortega.
Police say they found the suspect’s vehicle about one block away on West Street, but the driver ran off on foot. Since his California Motor Patrol uniform looks like that of a police officer, Morris believes driver may have thought he or she hit a cop.
Unfortunately, this is not the first major wreck for Morris. With over 50 years riding on two wheels, he’s flipped over a car while turning left and broke both arms when a drunk driver crashed through a center divide.
"When you've been through it, first thing you do is look down, make sure both your feet are pointing the same way. Then you kinda know you don’t' have any major injuries,” said Morris.
Morris’ wife, daughters, and granddaughters surrounded his hospital bed, where they found out he would be OK Monday evening.
“Let’s just say Gary had someone looking out for him today” said Janice Morris, Gary’s wife who had hoped his days of danger ended with his police retirement. “Motorcycles are motorcycles, but no, I thought we were through with that.”
Morris, on the other hand, said he’ll continue to ride motorcycles until the day he dies. He and his family are just thankful this was not that day.
