Pedestrians Have the Right-of-Way

Yesterday morning I was riding my bicycle to school and as I was crossing the street at 19th and Broadway, a car decided to make a right turn on a red light, didn't see me, and hit me as I was peddling across the crosswalk.  Completely shocked at what had just happened and only thinking that I needed to get out from the middle of the road, I got up off the hood of his car and walked to the grassy median.  When I turned around, the car had already driven away.  No apology.  No checking to see if I was okay.  He just left.  Still completely in shock, I walked the rest of the way to school and called the police.  Unfortunately the police told me that there wasn't anything they could do - I didn't have license plate numbers and really all I could remember was the color of the hood of the car.  It all happened so fast!  I want to believe that it was an honest mistake, and even though he shouldn't have left me in the middle of the road, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he thought I was okay because I walked to the middle of the road.  No matter what the case may be, I'm so thankful that God protected me, that I didn't feel any pain, and that I was able to walk away with only a bruise on my shin and a sore arm and shoulder. My bicycle wasn't so lucky. The metal piece that supports the peddle totally bent in towards the frame, preventing the peddle now from being able to rotate.  It'd probably cost more to have it repaired than what the bicycle is worth.  I hope that I'll be able to replace it soon.  You can't live on an island and not have a bicycle!  I also hope that the person that hit me realizes that they need to be a more careful driver and that this was a wake up call before hurting someone more severely with their vehicle.  Pedestrians have the right-of-way and drivers need to keep an eye out for them - especially in Galveston with all the locals and tourists using the crosswalks!