An East Nashville man has urged drivers to be aware and cautious after he was involved in a hit-and-run that was captured on video.
Brandon Velasquez was riding his bike north on Gallatin Pike when a car pulled in front of him at the intersection of Leland Avenue Wednesday night.
A surveillance camera from Ride and Drive, LLC across the street caught the moment of impact.
"The car looked like it was about to pull out in front of me so when it went all the way, I tried hitting the brakes as quickly as possible and it caused to me lose control and slide onto the ground," said Velasquez. "I was going to hit near the rear tire and I immediately was worried where I was going to hit or if I was going to get run over."
The car was trying to take left onto Leland Avenue but failed to yield. The video showed Velasquez bouncing off the car and quickly getting up to avoid an accident.
The driver did stop in the adjacent parking lot for a few seconds before it took off down Leland Avenue.
"I saw a police officer come down Gallatin Pike and I flagged them, and as soon I turned around, that car sped away. It hurts my feelings as far as humanity that someone can walk away from possibly seriously injuring someone," added Velasquez.
Velasquez described the driver as a middle-aged female with blonde hair in an early 2000's silver Mazda Protege 5 hatchback.
There is extensive damage to the front of the motorcycle, but Velasquez is thankful his injuries were nothing more than road rash and severe bruising.
Velasquez was driving under the speed limit at the time of the crash.
"My message is to always be aware of your situation and surroundings, and to do the right thing. You may suffer financial consequence at first but at least you know you left doing what you needed to do."
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, there were 7,419 hit-and-runs in 2017 and 2,226 so far in 2018.
Out of three fatalities in 2017, one involved a motorcycle.
So far in 2019, there has been one hit-and-run motorcycle fatality.
