Heart-stopping video that’s gone viral on social media shows two cyclists being hit by an SUV near DFW Airport.
In the video, one cyclist gets run over before the driver speeds off. Incredibly, that rider survived.
“I'm just happy to be alive, to tell you the truth,” said Tom Geppert. "Considering that video, I could’ve easily been in the ICU, or I could’ve been dead."
DFW Airport police said a witness provided a video of the incident along the 2700 block of N. Airfield Drive.
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In a video posted to social media, a white SUV is seen approaching two cyclists from behind at about 6:30 p.m. Monday, striking them both and causing them to fall off their bikes.
The SUV then ran over Geppert’s thighs.
“Watching the video, I'm so angry. It looked like he could've stopped before he rolled over me, but then he sped up and went right over me,” he said.
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Fellow cyclists said they followed the SUV to a gas station, demanding the driver, later identified as Benjamin Hylander, return to the scene.
When he did, police said Hylander began hysterically shouting, "I'm sorry," trying to talk to Geppert.
“While Hylander spoke to us, his breath emitted an odor of an alcoholic beverage,” a police report stated.
Police said they found six empty beer cans in a backpack in the backseat of the Hylander's White Subaru Forester and two more beer cans in the grass a few feet from the vehicle.
Police said a field sobriety test showed Hylander’s blood alcohol content was greater than or equal to .15, nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
“To go out and drink and get yourself drunk and drive is a choice that people make, but it an incredibly dangerous choice, you know, and this is the kind of thing that happens,” said Geppert.
Geppert, a 69-year-old grandfather and retired physician, said he left the hospital with cuts, bruises, a fractured rib and a concussion.
His bike was destroyed.
“I think the bike saved me,” he said.
Geppert said he's well aware of the risks of cycling. He said he picked up the sport 20 years ago and will one day return to the road.
Until then, he said he wanted what happened to drive home the message “That we have a right to be on the road.”
Police said Hylander worked cargo for American Airlines, which told NBC 5 that he had been suspended.
Hylander was arrested and faces multiple charges, including intoxication assault and driving while intoxicated. He remained in the Tarrant County jail as of Wednesday night.
