Riders severely injured after driver in hit-and-run flips pedicab after Astros game, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police are looking for the driver responsible for hitting a pedicab, injuring a man and woman, after an Astros game last week.

The crash happened on Sept. 27 at about 9:40 p.m. near the intersection of Austin and Capitol Street.

Surveillance video shows a small gray SUV hitting the pedicab and flipping it onto its side.

The driver of the bike cab, who did not want to be identified, said she woke up underneath a parked car on the street.

"I opened my eyes, and it was pitch black," the young woman recalled. "I was really scared."

She said she looked over and saw her passenger, Gloria Fuentes, next to her, and she feared the worst.

"I was like, 'No way,'" the pedicab driver said. "That's what hit me the most. I was like, the person just left. She's face down. She wasn't responding for a good minute."

Eventually, she said that Fuentes started moving.

Both women were taken to the hospital by ambulance. The pedicab driver has a broken nose, a bruised tailbone, and needed stitches on her head.

"I have a fractured cheekbone," Fuentes said. "I have a fractured jaw, and my teeth are broken, and my fingers."

Fuentes had gone to the Astros game with her boss that night. He was with her in the bike cab at the time of the crash, and police said he also sustained injuries.

Neither the pedicab driver nor Fuentes understood why the driver did not stop.

"It was a big bike," the pedicab driver said. "You can't miss that big bike. If you saw it flip, wouldn't you want to stop to see how the people are doing?"

"I would have at least thought the person would have had enough heart or compassion to check on the people," she said. "People aren't like me. I have to get that through my head."

Fuentes feels fortunate to be alive. She does not plan to ever ride in a pedicab again.

The pedicab driver said she will not be returning to her bike any time soon either. Both she and her husband have driven the bike cabs for concerts, games, and the rodeo for at least the last four years. She said it is a good time, and she gets to meet new people.

"I always have a good time with my customers," she said. "I have come back customers who trust me with their families because they know the fun good time, so it's just crazy how it happened, and it changed a lot."

A GoFundMe has been set up for Fuentes who is battling her injuries without any health insurance. She said she plans to see a plastic surgeon and dentist in the coming days to further assess her injuries.

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