An avid cyclist took a bad tumble on a road in Mission Valley Friday and thinks someone hit him and just drove away.
He’s asking the community for help piecing together the moments after the crash.
It was a typical afternoon ride for Gary Peritz along Hotel Circle South near Bachman.
“I went from riding along to being unconscious,” said Peritz. “In the nature of my injuries, I’m pretty sure I was just struck from behind and knocked out instantly.
"I think I was out when I hit the ground. Something; a side view mirror, something wide, just came by and clipped me; two by fours sticking out of somebody’s pick-up truck, I don’t know. Something had to hit my back strong enough to break those bones because my jersey did not have a scratch on the back.”
His injuries include eight broken ribs on his left side. Also, a couple of breaks on his collarbone and shoulder blade, as well as a concussion and road rash. His helmet was also cracked in the back.
His wife explained to NBC 7 what it was like receiving that phone call.
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“I thought he was asking, 'Where are you? Why haven’t you come home from the grocery store?' I really had no inkling that anything had happened,” said Nancy Peritz.
Two women were standing over Peritz when he came to, asking him if he needed some help.
They flagged down a police officer who drove the cyclist to the hospital.
Peritz told NBC 7 that, surprisingly, he doesn’t need surgery but he can’t get on the bike for two months.
The San Diego Police Department is not investigating this as a hit and run.
There weren’t any surveillance cameras nearby and no one saw a car leaving the scene.
