Port Orange, FL - A 20-year-old woman is now facing hit and run charges after she hit Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood on his bicycle and left the scene.
The Port Orange Police Department (POPD) says the incident occurred on Town West Boulevard just before 4:30 Thursday afternoon (March 18th). When officers arrived, they learned that the driver of a 2004 to 2006 Hyundai struck Sheriff Chitwood as he was riding his bike. The passenger side mirror of the car was also broken off in the crash.
After Sheriff Chitwood was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, deputies with the Volusia Sheriff's Office (VSO) stepped in to help POPD detectives find the suspect.
That same day, investigators tracked the suspect car down to a Sardinia Terrace residence in Deltona. When law enforcement arrived at the address, they arrested Paige Bergman, who was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury.
As of Friday morning (March 19th), data from the Volusia County Clerk of Courts shows Bergman remains in custody with bond set at $2,500.
While deputies and police were searching for Bergman, Sheriff Chitwood took to social media and provided updated on his treatment. While at the ER, Chitwood said he knew the car was maroon in color because its mirror was "impaled" in his back.
He also added that the crash was caught on camera, saying there was a garbage truck behind him at the time of the crash, whose occupants saw everything that had happened.
"From what the driver had said to me, it looked like the guy slowed down and ran at me on purpose," said Chitwood. "We'll find that out."
Investigators have yet to mention if Bergman purposefully hit the sheriff or not. Anyone with more information on this crash is asked to contact POPD Traffic Homicide Investigator Phillip Slease at 386-506-5838.
