Local NewsCrime

Actions

Las Vegas couple's lives changed forever after hit and run motorcycle crash

Posted
and last updated

A valley couple is thankful to be alive, after a horrific crash that left them both with likely permanent injuries.

They say the driver of the white SUV that hit their motorcycle on Jones Boulevard at Darby Avenue.

It happened December 8th, and police say they are still looking for the other driver.

It takes Angelo Valdez several minutes to describe the few seconds that changed his life forever.

"As soon as I hit the intersection, I heard gas accelerate, and the last thing I remembered is getting smashed," Valdez said.

After rolling several times following the crash, Valdez says his first thought, ‘where is my girlfriend?’

"I turned around and I couldn't find my girlfriend, I thought I lost her that night," Valdez said.

After finding her, Valdez tried to get up to help her.

That's when he realized the extent of his own injuries.

"As soon as I got up, I collapsed immediately," Valdez said.

He had broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and kidney and so much damage to his leg it was eventually amputated just below the knee.

Valdez says he managed to call 911 himself, but when he hung up.

"I noticed the car wasn't there,"

Valdez says another motorcycle rider tried to catch the SUV, but couldn't. 

All they found was a front headlight.

Through a little of their own detective work Valdez and his family are working to identify the vehicle.

"He realized it is a 2004 white Ford Explorer missing the left headlight," Valdez said.

Valdez’s girlfriend also had severe injuries that will take nearly a year to heal, including a broken back, neck, and leg.

The couple has set up a Go Fund Me account to help pay for their medical costs.