WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The spring has already proved to be dangerous for bicyclists in Utah.
A West Valley City man is currently recovering after being the victim of a hit-and-run on his bicycle two weeks ago.
Loved ones say 30-year-old Josh Tisdale was riding his bike, as he does very often, when he was hit by a car while in the crosswalk at 4100 South and 4800 West in West Valley City on April 10.
"Really hard to see him like that," said Aubrey Robb, Tisdale's girlfriend. "It's just not fair."
Robb says Tisdale is a lively person and has the biggest heart of anybody she has ever known.
She says she was at work that Sunday when she heard what happened.
"A friend of mine said... 'Did you hear about the hit and run that happened down the road?' and I said 'No, was it anybody we knew?'" Robb said. "But right here, I just felt like something was going on with Josh."
Andy Trolson, a long-time friend of Tisdale's, said he suffered some pretty extensive injuries.
"He got a fractured skull, he broke his neck in three different places, he has to wear a neck brace, he broke his ankle I believe, and I know he had to have surgery on it and he might have to have another surgery on his foot," said Trolson.
Trolson has known Tisdale for nearly 20 years.
He says he still can't believe that whoever hit his friend left the area after it happened.
"It's pretty crazy thinking about how they didn't even have no license plate on their car, and they didn't even stop," Trolson said. "Like, going 40 miles an hour, you think, you know, that's pretty fast, and he's lucky he's not dead."
READ: Cyclist hit, killed by vehicle in Layton
Jenn Oxborrow, the executive director of Bike Utah, says 50,000 people are hit every year by motor vehicles across the country.
"We just really want to instill this, this message that, if you're in a car, you have to see us, you have to pay attention and really avoid distracted driving," she said.
That's why Oxborrow says they are working on legislation for 2023 that she believes would help cyclists and motorists share the roadways more safely and reduce tragedies overall.
"Right now, you're supposed to give people — a cyclist — three feet," she said. "There's a three-feet rule in Utah; we're trying to make that so that if you have a safe lane that you can use to safely go around a cyclist, that you actually do."
Tisdale's sister, Jessica, says Josh is at a rehabilitation center now. She says he will learn how to walk and work around his cast and neck brace. She says they estimate 30 to 90 more days of aftercare from the rehab center as well.
A few days after the accident, West Valley City Police asked for the public's help to identify and find the hit-and-run driver. FOX 13 News reached out to the department Sunday, and they said the incident is still under investigation.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Josh and his family.
