A female motorcyclist struck from behind by a driver who fled the scene has a broken back and will have to learn to walk again.
Michelle Zoril, 21, of Golden was thrown from her bike at about 1 a.m. Sunday as she was stopped at a red light at the intersection of U.S. 40 and U.S. 6 in Jefferson County.
Zoril underwent surgery at St. Anthony Central Hospital to repair broken vertebrae in her lower back.
“This is really difficult,” Zoril said today during a news conference. “I have to learn how to walk again.”
Zoril, an emergency medical technician, said she can now relate to the pain that some of her patients feel.
“I have more of an understanding when a patient says that it really hurts,” Zoril said.
Zoril said she saw the white Chrysler Sebring barreling toward her, but it happened quickly and she couldn’t get out of the way.
“I could only think for a second. I tried to brace myself for impact,” she said. “I do remember flying forward and hitting helmet-first.”
Witnesses described the car to Colorado State Patrol investigators, and the front license plate of the 2004 Sebring fell off at the scene.
The State Patrol knows who the car is registered to, said Trooper Ryan Sullivan, a patrol spokesman.
Investigators are still trying to locate the suspect driver, Sullivan said. The car had not been reported stolen.
“We do have some good leads in the case,” he said.
Zoril said she can’t understand how the driver left.
“I’m angry,” Zoril said. “I feel more hurt than anything else. I couldn’t even get up.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
