Polk County, IA deputies search for driver after hit-and-run...

Polk County deputies search for driver after hit-and-run leaves local cyclist with serious injuries KCCI

POLK COUNTY, Iowa — David VanGundy faces a long recovery at Younker Rehabilitation at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where he expects to remain until at least early December.
Battered but resolute, he says the crash won’t change who he is.

VanGundy and his wife, Kathleen, were riding their recumbent tricycles south on NW 26th Street in the early afternoon of Nov. 3 when a vehicle struck them from behind and drove away, he said.

VanGundy suffered a broken pelvis in two places, broken ribs, a broken sternum, and a broken clavicle; Kathleen had minor injuries.

His recumbent trike was destroyed.

“I’ll try to go to sleep, and I’ll close my eyes and I’m right back there,” VanGundy said. “It just loops—that initial impact—and you can’t get rid of it.”

Despite the trauma, VanGundy expressed empathy for the driver.

“I actually feel kind of sorry for the guy—I don’t know who it was—but I would hate to be that person, living with that,” he said.

He recalls lying in the road moments after impact before adrenaline took over.

“I started rolling to the west and felt like I needed to get out of the road so another car didn’t come by,” VanGundy said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help.

“Maybe this person took their car to an auto repair shop, maybe they talked to somebody about it—we’re just hoping the public can come forward with any information,” Lt. Mark Chance said, noting a possible vehicle of a silver 2011–2016 Kia, though parts may be from a previous crash.

The couple, avid cyclists, were finishing a ride of more than 50 miles; VanGundy says he’ll eventually get back on his bike.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

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