By Theresa Goodwin
A middle-aged man, who suffered debilitating injuries during a hit and run accident months ago, is seeking the assistance of the media to appeal to the driver of the vehicle that allegedly struck him to come forward.
Milton Walker, a contractor by profession, said the accident, which occurred around the middle of March 2020, has negatively impacted his ability to work and provide for his family.
Reaching out to the media, he said, is his last hope that the driver of the vehicle would somehow read his story and accept responsibility in order to provide some form of assistance toward his mounting medical bills.
The man 54-year-old man told Observer that he was walking on the left side of the road on Independence Avenue, heading towards the Ramco Building when the accident occurred.
He said the traffic had come to a complete stop when he attempted to cross the road in the vicinity of the gas station, but before he could complete the crossing, he was struck by a gold-coloured SUV.
“I was struck on the left side of my shoulder and fell to the ground. The vehicle drove about another 80 feet before the driver eventually stopped, and after waiting 15 seconds the person drove off,” Walker recalled.
“I went by the gas station; I sat down for about a half an hour before walking to the hospital. When I went to the hospital, they told me the hand is not broken, but the pain that I have been feeling since is overbearing; it feels like something else is wrong,” he added.
According to Walker, the pain has affected his ability to sleep or cope with his normal duties during the day, and while he is unable able to work as usual, he still goes to the construction site to do what little he can to earn a living.
“I still have bills to pay and I have a child in college; I was going to work at the time [of the accident],” the distraught man explained.
While Walker has since filed a report at Police Headquarters, he explained that he was so shocked at the time of the accident, and therefore was not in a state of mind to recognise or take note of the type of vehicle or its registration number.
He said due to the excruciating pain he is experiencing on a daily basis, the Mount St John’s Medical Centre referred him to the Belmont Clinic in order to conduct further examinations on his hand which is still in a cast. That appointment is scheduled for some time today, and represents yet another expense that Walker will have to pay out of pocket.