DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. — A 48-year-old Dinwiddie County man is recovering at home and facing mounting medical bills after a hit-and-run crash left him hospitalized for about a week.
Lawrance Manson was riding his red moped to his job at Tractor Supply on Route 1 near Dewitt just after five in the morning on March 10 when he was struck from behind.
"I see the guy's headlights in my rearview mirror. I got as far over to the right as I could, bam," Manson said. "How could he miss me? I'm wearing a lime green helmet, a red bike with a very bright tail light."
The crash left Manson lying on the asphalt, while his moped caught fire. Manson credits two bystanders for coming to his aid after the crash.
"The person that stopped was an angel. The lady whose house I landed in front, she was an angel too because she was the one who looked at me and said 'Hold still, you need to stop moving,'" Manson said.
Virginia State Police said 61-year-old Steven Vincent Shoemaker of Dewitt turned himself in on March 14 as the driver of the pickup truck that hit Manson. Shoemaker is charged with felony hit and run involving injury and felony hit and run involving property damage greater than $1,000.
"How could he have left me? That, I don't understand," Manson said.
Manson told CBS 6 he is now out of work, out of money, and has no insurance to pay his medical bills or replace his moped. He suffered a fractured ankle, cracked ribs, and a damaged disc in his back after blacking out and falling at home following his initial hospital release.
"They want me to use the walker. I still have to wear a boot because my ankle is fractured. It's hard to breathe because my ribs are cracked," Manson said. "I have to get a surgery that's gonna cost $8,000 and some change just to put some bone cement to straighten that disk out."
Manson had been making the commute on his moped for nearly a year and a half.
"They seen me do it through rain, sleet and snow," Manson said.
The physical and mental scars are taking a toll on Manson as he recovers.
"Mentally, for a man who is used to doing a lot of stuff on his own. For a man who doesn't like to ask his friends and family for help, it's tough, man, you know," Manson said.
Those who wish to help Manson with his expenses can donate via Cash App to $bubbabean009.
Click here to email the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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