Distracted driver strikes and injures bicycling Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood

A 20-year-old woman admitted to authorities that she was using her phone to shop on Amazon while driving when she struck Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood with her car while he was biking in Port Orange.

Paige Bergman, 20, has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious bodily harm.

“I know she had no intention of running me down,” Chitwood tweeted. “That’s what a lot of distracted drivers say after they cause a tragedy.”

Bergman was located and arrested by Volusia County deputies in her family’s driveway. According to deputies, she had told her family that she hit a mailbox with her car. The deputy explained to her relatives outside the home what actually took place.

“She did not hit a mailbox. Do you want to know what she hit? Mike Chitwood, the Volusia County Sheriff,” the deputy explained to the 20-year-old’s family.

Sheriff Chitwood suffered a broken leg, stitches in his back along, and some additional minor injuries in the crash.

“Just imagine if that had been a child or an elderly person on that bike, or if the car drifted a couple more inches to the right.”

“Next thing I know, boy, I got hit hard from the rear,” Chitwood said. “I go flying off the bike and all I could tell you was it was a burgundy-colored car, because the mirror was impaled in my back.”

“I consider myself lucky to be back on my feet today,” he said.

The collision was recorded on video by a Waste Pro truck whose driver, who stopped to help the sheriff after witnessing the incident.

This terrible collision between a car being driven by a distracted driver and the Volusia County Sheriff is yet another example of the danger we face on the roads with distracted or impaired drivers.

Since 1984 Draper Law Office has served the community in times of need. As more and more people relocate to Florida driving, biking, and walking on Central Florida roads has become increasingly hazardous. New studies have shown the Central Florida roadways are some of the most dangerous in the nation. Let’s work together as a community to reduce distracted and impaired driving. It affects us all, and it will take all of us to make a positive difference.

Remember in times of need, you can trust Draper Law Office.