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Left for dead

Left for dead Only one stops to help hit-and-run victim sprawled in road Susan Koomar Pocono Record News Editor …Pa. U.S.A. November 19, 2006 There are bad drivers, and then there's the one who left Ed Walsh for dead in the middle of Business Route 209. His neck was broken and knee torn so badly that the joint was exposed. But that's not all. Here is the worst part. One person stopped to help. Just one. Mary Smith-Hardy was on her way to work when she came upon the crumpled mess. "It looked like a huge garbage bag ripped apart and strewn across the road," she said. When she recognized a human form, she thought it was a Halloween prank. It was Oct. 25. "He was face-down in the middle of the road. His head was literally on the yellow line," she said. The time was about 3 a.m., and Smith-Hardy knew she had to get Walsh off the road before commuter traffic started flowing. She put her four-way flashers on and left her headlights shining. Smith-Hardy scrambled to drag Walsh to safety. Cars sped by despite the flashing lights in pre-dawn darkness. Smith-Hardy was so appalled that she began counting. Ten vehicles. "Nobody slowed down. Nobody stopped," she said with utter disgust. Walsh's motorcycle was smashed into three pieces. One driver finally had to stop when he hit some debris and almost lost control of his truck. He got out, removed the debris and drove away, said Smith-Hardy. Yellow mystery car sought Walsh is recovering at his Lake Valhalla home and can actually laugh about the tragedy. "Maybe people thought it was two drunks fighting in the middle of the road when Smith-Hardy pulled him to safety," he joked. But there is one person Walsh and Smith-Hardy would like to find. The one who caused the wreck. Walsh, 54, worked late at his Marshalls Creek office that night to upgrade the computer network. He owns an engineering firm based just two and a half miles from his home. Walsh has been riding motorcycles for 40 years and calls them his main mode of transportation. He always wears a helmet — "even on the shortest runs," he said. His helmet is a seriously sturdy model that cost $350. Walsh pulled gingerly out of the gravel parking lot at his office. He tooled down 209 at about 40 mph, wary that deer might leap out from the black woods. "I'm always very careful on 209," said Walsh. He doesn't remember the actual crash, but he is sure a northbound car abruptly cut across his lane as it turned onto Airport Road. Walsh swerved left but didn't want to veer all the way into the oncoming lane. He slammed into the car's passenger side as it crossed his path. "I vaguely remember hurting. I hurt my shoulder pretty bad rotator cuff has three stress fractures," he said. "I remember some pain." His other memory is from the ride to Lehigh Valley Hospital. "I remember being jostled around, being told I was in a helicopter, but I really wasn't comprehending," he said. The car Walsh hit is yellow based on paint traces visible on pieces of his motorcycle. The car likely has significant damage. "There was glass everywhere. That wasn't from the motorcycle," said Smith-Hardy. Paralyzed or dead Walsh has traveled 209 late at night before and knows it is risky. "You have people who've been to bars 'til they closed and people on their way to work," he said. Smith-Hardy works at a coffee shop, which she opens at 4:30 a.m. She gets up at 2:30 a.m. to give herself plenty of time. The day she found Walsh, she still made it to work early. "Mary very well might have saved my life," said Walsh. Walsh has 50 stitches in his knee, but expects to make a full recovery. The broken vertebrae in his neck should mend just fine. If the break had been slightly different, Walsh would be either paralyzed or dead. Smith-Hardy, who lives in Marshalls Creek, now considers Walsh and his wife, Mary, part of her extended family. But she drives past the crash site every day and finds it haunting. "I was horrified. It tore me apart. I can handle blood, guts," she said. "What I can't handle is the fact that the person who did this left him there for dead. And nobody stopped to help. Not one." COMMENT ON THIS STORY UNSOLVED MYSTERY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ACCIDENT? State police at Swiftwater are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact them at 570 839-7701. CRASH HELMET IRONY Ed Walsh shared a little story that adds another dimension to his near-fatal hit-and-run. Walsh, a motorcycle rider for 40 years, had a bike stolen from outside his office within the last few years. Without any hassle, his insurance company sent him a check to cover the loss of the bike, Walsh said. But the company refused to reimburse him for the loss of his helmet. That's because motorcycle riders are no longer required to wear a helmet under Pennsylvania law. Walsh never rides bare-headed. He paid about $350 for a high-quality helmet to replace the one stolen. The helmet likely helped him survive his Oct. 25 wreck. -- Susan Koomar We need to do it, get that M.F. the cops will do Shit!!!!