Make, Model of Suspect Car in Hit-and-Run Identified

Carol Lord, a P.E. teacher, nearly lost her foot in the hit-and-run collision

 San Diego Police are looking for a driver they say hit a San Diego P.E. teacher and left her crumpled on the ground.

Carol Lord, a P.E. teacher at Alice Birney Elementary School, was riding her bike at Clairemont Drive and Galveston Street on Thursday, Sept. 17 when a blue sedan swerved into the bike lane to pass another car, striking Lord, according to her husband Steve.

The collision left Carol with a compound fracture and dislocated ankle. The driver fled the scene.

On Tuesday, police said the car responsible for the hit-and-run was a dark metallic blue 2005 to 2009 Buick LaCrosse. The car's passenger side mirror was left at the scene of the crash, police said, and the car will likely have a damaged front bumper, hood and fender. 

Her husband, Steve, said the incident is something they have always feared as cyclists.

โ€œWeโ€™ve been riding together for 20 years,โ€ he said. โ€œShe rides three to four thousand miles a year on San Diego streets. Well, it happened this morning. I stopped and turned around and there was my wife on the ground, crumpled. I thought she was dead.โ€

A surgeon at Scripps La Jolla Hospital was able to essentially reattach her nearly severed foot to her ankle.

Now comes the recovery, which Steve expects wonโ€™t be pretty. Sitting isnโ€™t exactly Carolโ€™s thing.

โ€œThis is going to be hard on her,โ€ he said. โ€œSheโ€™s not a good patient in that regard, and nobody should have to go through this. Nobody.โ€

Anyone with information is asked to contact Traffic Division Detective Heidi Hawley at (858) 495-7811. 

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