Updated: Hit-and-run driver seriously injures professional mountain biker near Dexter

By Cindy Heflin Associate news director

Posted on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 : 12:22 p.m.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with information about the hit-and-run vehicle.

A hit-and-run driver struck and seriously injured a Pinckney professional mountain biker near Dexter Wednesday night.

Jason Lummis was hit from behind at about 9 p.m. on Dexter-Pinckney Road as he was riding his bike from his job at Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness in Ann Arbor to his home in Pinckney, something he does everyday, said Jason Aric Jones. Jones is Lummis' friend and director of the Bell's Brewery-Quiring Cycles Professional Mountain Bike Team on which Lummis competes.

The impact knocked him into the ditch, Jones said, and the driver fled. "It's hard to believe they wouldn’t have known they hit him," he said.

Washtenaw County Sheriff's Sgt. David Archer said someone driving behind Lummis and the vehicle that hit him saw the taillights of the vehicle fleeing north on Dexter-Pinckney Road, but wasn't able to get a description of it. The motorist stopped and called 911, Archer said.

The crash occurred between Fleming Road and Horseshoe Bend and was reported at 9:07 p.m., Archer said.

Jones said Lummis, 39, suffered a broken back but appears to have no paralysis. He has internal injuries and lost a lot of blood but appears not to have suffered a head injury.

A press release issued this afternoon from the Sheriff's Department said the vehicle is believed to be one of the following:

A 1999 to 2000 Ford Excursion with the passenger side mirror missing
A 1999 to 2000 Ford F250 Pickup, F350 Pickup, F450 Pickup, or F550 Super Duty truck with the passenger side mirror missing.

Lummis competes with the Bell's team throughout Michigan and the Midwest and has won a number of races, Jones said. "He’s one of the top pro mountain bikers in the state. He's got quite a bit of hardware."

Lummis is in the intensive care unit at the University of Michigan Hospital, Jones said.

Anyone with information about the crash or the driver of the vehicle that stuck Lummis should call the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department tip line at 734-973-7711 or Deputy Marcus Kirby at (734) 426-0228.