Hit and run cyclist tells his story in viral video – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A stunning video that went viral on social media shows two cyclists being hit by an SUV near DFW Airport.

In the video, a cyclist is run over before the driver speeds away. Unbelievably, the driver survived.

“To be honest, I’m just happy to be alive,” said Tom Geppert. “If you watch the video, I could just as easily have been in intensive care or dead.”

It happened on Monday around 6:30 p.m., 2700 N. Airfield Drive.

DFW Airport police said a witness provided video of the incident.

A video posted on social media shows a white SUV approaching two cyclists from behind, hitting them both and causing them to fall from their bikes.

The SUV then drives over Geppert’s thigh.

“When I look at the video, I’m so angry. It looked like he could have stopped before he ran me over, but then he accelerated and drove right over me,” he said.

Other cyclists said they followed the SUV to a gas station and urged the driver, later identified as Benjamin Hylander, to return to the scene of the accident.

When he did so, police said Hylander began hysterically screaming “I’m sorry” and tried to talk to Geppert.

“While Hylander was speaking to us, his breath gave off the odor of an alcoholic beverage,” a police report said.

Police said they found six empty beer cans in a backpack in the back seat of Hylander’s white Subaru Forester and two more beer cans in the grass a few meters from the vehicle.

According to police, a breathalyzer test showed that Hylander’s blood alcohol content was at least 0.15 per mille, which was above the legal limit of 0.08 per mille.

“Going out and getting drunk and then driving is a decision that people make, but it’s an incredibly dangerous decision, you know, and these things happen,” Geppert said.

Geppert, a 69-year-old grandfather and retired doctor, said he left the hospital with cuts, bruises, a broken rib and a concussion.

His bike is destroyed.

“I think the bike saved me,” he said.

Geppert says he is well aware of the risks of cycling. He discovered the sport 20 years ago and will one day return to the road.

Until then, he wants to take the message from the events “that we have a right to be on the streets,” he says.

Police said Hylander worked in cargo for American Airlines. The airline told NBC 5 that he had been suspended.

Hylander was arrested and faces several charges, including assault while under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence.

As of Wednesday evening, he remains in the Tarrant County Jail.

For licensing reasons we do not post the video online.