Road rage over the weekend in Vista led to one man getting severely injured while calling 911 about the reckless chase.
Leo Peralta, 21, was struck in front of his friend’s home on Via Felicidad by a Toyota Sequoia SUV on Sunday. Several doorbell cameras and cell phones recorded the hit-and-run.
“It’s really affecting him, and he really didn’t want to know anything about the videos or what happened,” best friend Miguel Castillo told NBC 7.
The woman behind the wheel of the Toyota SUV was Lindsey Bigbey, according to investigators.
Sheriff’s deputies say Bigbey was aggressively chasing a Jeep Cherokee. Behind the wheel of the Jeep was Nathan Robson.
From inside his friend’s home, Peralta said he heard screaming and cars colliding. He ran outside, recording and dialing 911. When he got to the street, he barely turned around before he was struck by the Sequoia.
A man and a woman were arrested Wednesday in connection with an apparent road-rage encounter in Vista that left an uninvolved pedestrian severely injured.
Peralta has been at Palomar Medical Center since the accident. He broke his leg in three places, and he has hip and back injuries. He won’t be released until he can get out of his bed on his own.
“Lot of pain and fever. I could have died. I know I could have died,” Peralta said.
He has had surgery and blood transfusions. And with medication, he barely stays ahead of the pain.
“If I start feeling sad or putting too much attention on it, I’m not going to work on my rehab,“ Peralta said.
Investigators say Bigbey did not stop after running over Peralta. Instead, she drove another block, crashed into more parked cars, then abandoned the vehicle for the Jeep Cherokee. The two then sped off.
“It’s just more questions. Why didn’t she stop? Did she see him? Why did any of this happen?” Castillo said. “I feel like she had to see him, especially from that distance.”
“I don’t see why people are like that. There was no point,” Peralta said.
On Wednesday, deputies located and arrested Bigbey and Robson on East Mission Bay Drive in San Diego. Both suspects were booked into the Vista Detention Facility.
Peralta has a long road to recovery.
“I was born again, pretty much,” Peralta said.
He will not be alone. He has his family and best friend, Castillo.
The two drivers are charged with multiple felony crimes, including hit-and-run, assault with a deadly weapon, and aiding and abetting.