PORT ORANGE, Fla. – A 20-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash that left Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood hospitalized with a fractured leg.
Port Orange police said early Friday that Paige Bergman was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash involving serious bodily injury,
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She was arrested after police said they found the vehicle that struck Chitwood, who was riding a bike, at a home in the 3200 block of Sardinia Terrace in Deltona.
Volusia County sheriff’s officials said in a tweet Thursday afternoon that Chitwood was taken to a hospital after the crash, which took place around 4:30 p.m. at Town West Boulevard and Daylily Street in Port Orange.
Chitwood needed stitches and suffered a fractured fibular, he said via his Facebook page.
The sheriff later released a statement on Twitter.
(WARNING: video below has strong language)
THANK YOU ALL for your well wishes, and thank you to everyone who rushed over here to help. Here's an update from the ER where they're taking GREAT care of me. To the hit and run driver- just come forward! pic.twitter.com/oXo1fej7f6
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) March 18, 2021
Chitwood said he was on a 20-mile bike ride when he was hit from behind.
“I go flying off the bike and what I could tell you it was a burgundy color car because the mirror was impaled in my back,” he said.
Chitwood said a driver of a waste truck saw the incident, and the collision was caught on video.
Chitwood posted video of the crash Friday morning, saying, “Thank you all again for your messages and kind words. I have some road rash, a few stitches on the gash from the passenger side mirror and a fractured fibula that the doctors hope will heal on its own. I consider myself lucky to be back on my feet today.”
According to Chitwood, Bergman said she was shopping on Amazon on her phone when she hit him.
“Please let this be a warning to put your phones down while you’re driving before you kill someone,” Chitwood said via Facebook.
Chitwood thanked all of those who stopped to help him, especially the WastePro driver.
The sheriff said EMS and hospital crews did a great job taking care of him.
Online court records show Bergman was arrested in December on domestic battery charges. A pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled for April 6.
First, good news: He's OK! @SheriffChitwood was hit on his bike this afternoon in Port Orange. He's being transported with minor injuries but he's in good spirits. Crash occurred around 4:30 at Town West Blvd/Daylily St. Thanks for your well wishes & patience for further info.
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) March 18, 2021
Thursday’s crash comes nearly four years after Chitwood was injured in a bicycle crash in Ponce Inlet. Chitwood suffered a broken hand and an ACL injury in that crash after he was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, officials said.
Also in 2017, Chitwood’s bicycle fell from his vehicle’s bike rack onto the interstate, damaging passing vehicles. Nobody was hurt but three vehicles were damaged, the sheriff said.