Each day in Pittsburgh, motor vehicles are involved in a wide variety of different accidents. While they often involve other vehicles, other times, walkers or bikers are struck. Collectively referred to as pedestrian accidents, the injuries to those individuals can be catastrophic, sometimes even resulting in death.

Earlier this year a Pittsburgh cyclist learned this firsthand. He was riding his bicycle down a hill on Liberty when a Jeep hit him and the continued on. We first wrote about him this past summer.

The man, who was working as an advocate for bicycle safety in the city at the time of the car crash, suffered a long list of injuries of varying degrees of severity. On one end of the spectrum, he had a broken finger, on the other, his aorta ruptured.

Miraculously, the man survived the incident and recently made his way back to the scene of the hit-and-run accident. Some believe the only reason the cyclist is alive today is because he was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.

Prior to this visit to the scene, the man was unconscious for a total of three weeks. He had to undergo several surgeries to repair parts of his body and reportedly has more to come. Now, though he uses a cane, he is able to walk. After his next series of surgeries he plans to trade in the cane for another bicycle.

Local authorities believe they have found the driver of the vehicle that struck the man. At the time of the crash his license had been revoked and he said he was drinking. The criminal charges he is facing are unknown, as is whether the cyclist plans on filing a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. With the recovery he has been working through, it is fair to say that few could blame him for trying to obtain financial damages for the incident that was not his fault.

Source: KDKA, "Hit-And-Run Victim Works To Make Pittsburgh Bike Friendly," Oct. 26, 2012