Police searching for driver who hit Caldwell County cyclist

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A bicyclist in Caldwell County was knocked off the road by a driver who drove off following the crash, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Family members told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty that 47-year-old Jimmy Mellon wasn’t discovered until eight hours after becoming the victim of a hit-and-run along Dudley Shoals Road on Thursday night.

Mellon suffered injuries to his head and legs after being hit by the car. Police told Faherty that another biker discovered Mellon down a hill on Friday morning and called 911.

“No one deserves to be left in the middle of the night for dead,” Mellon’s niece April Christopher, said.

He was unconscious until Saturday, family said, and he still doesn’t remember the accident.

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Christopher told Faherty that Mellon was seen leaving his girlfriend’s house eight hours before he was found.

“Knowing that he was there and not being able to scream out to anybody or let somebody know that he was hurt is what’s really bothering us,” she said.

And temperatures were in the lower 40s on Friday morning.

“I mean, he could have froze to death and we would never have known it,” Christopher said.

Steve Annas lives down the street from where the crash occurred and said he just can’t understand why someone would leave the scene.

“There probably is people around here who would drive off and leave him,” he said. “I don’t think they should be on the highway, but they should be caught and punished.”

License and theft investigators with the highway patrol are investigating the case. They told Faherty that they discovered some car parts at the scene of the crash.

Troopers said they believe the side mirror they found at the scene belongs to a 2014 to 2018 Chevy or GMC Silverado or Sierra truck.

State troopers are hoping the public can help them track down the truck. Mellon’s family hopes that the driver comes forward, Christopher said.

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