More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A motorcyclist who was left seriously injured after a hit and run says he has been forced to carry out his own investigation after a lack of concern from police.
David Matthews, of Pearmain Close, in Greenhithe, was riding along Lamberhurst Road near Horsmonden when he was hit by a car and thrown off his bike.
He needed emergency treatment from air ambulance medics after the crash just before noon on Saturday, May 2.
The 36-year-old was left with a broken collar bone and several broken ribs.
He said: "As I was going up the hill on a right-hand bend, a car overtook a cyclist on the wrong side of the road. He came right over towards me and I moved over as far as I could but I was hit by the front of the car and went down the side of it. I ended up in the bushes and they just drove off.
"I was in a lot of pain and I couldn't move.
"About 20 yards away was a house and a lady who was in her front garden saw what happened and she called the ambulance and came and sat with me until they arrived. I'm so thankful she was there.
"The air ambulance turned up and the police shut the road off and I was taken to hospital and rushed straight in for a CT scan and assessments.
"I've got a broken collar bone, some broken ribs and a damaged forearm. I've got to go back to hospital this week because there's a chance my collar bone is also dislocated."
He added: "I'm lucky to be alive but I'm in so much pain, I can't sleep and I can't even play with my six-year-old daughter.
"My bike's a mess, it will probably be a complete write off."
Mr Matthews, who works as a train driver based at Slade Green, says he feels so let down by the police he has taken the investigation into his own hands.
He said: "The police have done nothing. Even with broken bones I've still managed to get hold of CCTV of the car from a local shop. I've knocked around houses that had cameras to track the car's direction. I've even managed to work out the car's registration to contact the insurance company.
"I sent all that information over to the police but when I called, they said they hadn't even looked at it yet.
"The footage from a local shop shows the car coming down the road four minutes later with the damage down the side and the mirror missing.
"I've since been into Tonbridge police station to make a complaint because in the meantime, the person who owns the car could easily get it repaired and it just feels like because I've survived, it's not a big issue for them."
Kent Police says a car is reported to have failed to stop and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
