A 26-year-old man is back home from the hospital after he was struck in the street while riding his bicycle.
Ruben Torres Parra said he was on his bike around 6:30 a.m. Friday when he approached a roundabout at First Avenue and East 19th Street in Hialeah and was hit.
“I stopped at the stop sign. I didn’t see anything in the whole area, I didn’t see a sign of a car or anything,” said Torres Parra in Spanish. “The car came at a high speed. I was already in the middle of the intersection.”
The crash threw him off his bike and into the air before he landed on the pavement.
“As soon as I was able to move, then I was able to see how my foot was bent and all twisted, I was in shock,” said Torres Parra.
The wreck occurred at a traffic circle that is known for trouble.
“It has eight streets and that roundabout is very dangerous,” said the victim.
The aftermath of the crash left Torres Parra with a broken leg and ankle.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he spent three nights and now has rods in his leg.
As soon as he was released, he reunited with the good Samaritan that called 911 after witnessing the crash.
Nercy Toledo showed up with balloons to greet the victim.
She said the crash happened in the front steps of her home and told 7News something needs to be done to make that intersection safer.
“It’s really bad, they need to put a light or fix the stop signs to avoid this problem,” said Toledo.
She added crashes in the intersection are far too common. She blames speeding, blind spots and stop signs that are placed too far from the intersection for the crashes.
Now, both of them hope the City of Hialeah will make changes to prevent another crash like this one.
“Not only my accident, more accidents will happen.”
“Thank God I’m alive and it was only my leg,” said Torres Parra.
Police said the driver stayed on the scene following the crash.
7News reached out to Hialeah Police and city officials but have not heard back.