TRAVERSE CITY — A large, black vehicle slowed behind Kylee Bonne as she rode her bike along Ninth Street.
Bonne, pedaling home on June 28 shortly after 1 a.m., wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Perhaps it was a friend pulling up to say hello, she thought.
When Bonne turned to look, the unthinkable happened.
"As soon as I turned around, I heard it accelerate and it veered toward me," she said.
The vehicle slammed into Bonne, nearly six months pregnant at the time. The collision broke her leg in multiple spots, but didn't injure her unborn baby. The driver sped off immediately after the crash as Bonne curled up in a ball on the side of the road.
Bonne, 30, of Traverse City, is convinced the driver hit her on purpose. She rode a "highly visible" bright pink bike and hugged the side of the road, she said.
"I've played it over in my head a million times, and I just can't see any way it was an accident," she said. "There were no other cars on the street, and I was easily avoidable."
Police continue to search for the driver, but they might not get anywhere without tips. When a vehicle hits another vehicle and takes off, it normally shows signs from the crash and can be spotted later. Not so when a vehicle hits a bike.
"Usually the damage is very minimal," Traverse City Police Capt. Steve Morgan said. "There's not a lot to look for."
Bonne could have been hurt much worse or killed, Morgan said, and her baby could have been injured or killed. It's upsetting that the person left the scene after the collision, he said.
"That's the basis of making it a felony to leave the scene when an injury occurs or you believe an injury occurs," he said. "It is a very serious offense."
Bonne hopes the suspect is apprehended.
"It's such an awful thing to do; I just can't picture it going through someone's head," she said. "Obviously, I want whoever it is caught, just to get that psycho off the road."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Traverse City Police Department Detective Bureau at (231) 995-5152 or Silent Observer at (231) 947-TIPS.
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Related Photos
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Kylee Bonne, of Traverse City, stands in a cast and on crutches along a portion of Ninth Street where she was riding her bicycle at the end of June when she was the victim of a hit-and-run incident. Record-Eagle/Keith King
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