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Cyclist Injured By Hit & Run Driver Near CSU Expected To Recover

Sketch
(credit: Fort Collins Police)

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Police in Fort Collins are using detailed sketches as they try to identify and track down a hit-and-run driver.

Witnesses say the driver hit a Colorado State University student riding his bike home from class Thursday night. The female driver stopped briefly and checked on the victim and then drove off as people came to help.

The accident happened at the corner of Laurel and Shields streets off the CSU campus. Cars move pretty quickly in the area and there were plenty of witnesses. Police are hoping those witnesses help make an arrest. Sketches of the suspect are based off witness accounts.

Michael Patterson
Michael Patterson (credit: Patterson family)

The victim has been identified as Michael Patterson, 21, a CSU senior.

"He was commuting back from the campus to his home after a test," Michael Patterson's father William Patterson said.

Michael Patterson's twisted bike sat in in the middle of the street for hours. Police tried to remap the scene. At the same time Michael Patterson was in emergency surgery. Doctors had to remove a piece of his skull so he would survive. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

"It's the ultimate sense of powerlessness and you trust the experts," William Patterson said.

Police are looking for a white woman in her mid-20s, 5-foot-7 and roughly 175 to 200 pounds. Investigators currently have no names and only the sketches to search on. She was driving a white sedan with black handles.

Michael Patterson's parents said he was taken off of ventilators on Thursday. He is now talking and able to move his arms. He is expected to recover.

There was a recent report in The Coloradoan in Fort Collins that says the amount of bicycle car accidents is on the rise in city.

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