ELYRIA — Robert L. Anderson was riding his bicycle to his weekend job at Burger King on West River Road early Saturday morning when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Monday, the 28-year-old man who lives on Cascade Street was in critical condition at Huron Hospital in Cleveland.

Christy Zedell, Anderson’s fiancee and the mother of his daughter, said doctors told her Anderson has a fractured spine, a broken shoulder and collarbone, a broken leg, a broken arm, broken ribs, bleeding and swelling in the brain and blood in his lungs, as well as fractured bones in his nasal passages and around his eyes.

“I wish anyone would come forward if they saw anything,” Zedell, 30, said.

Anderson was thrown from his bike after being struck by a southbound vehicle in the curb lane of West River Road as he turned his northbound bike into the restaurant’s drive at about 5:50 a.m., according to Elyria police Lt. Andy Eichenlaub.

Anderson, a client at Murray Ridge Center, is a man of few words, but he loves his family and hard work, Zedell said.

She said Anderson, who does not drive, takes a Murray Ridge bus to Oberlin College on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to clean the dining hall, and he also works at a Murray Ridge facility.

But on Saturdays and Sundays, Anderson, who lives near the Elyria Police Station, rides his bike to Burger King, she said.

The couple have a 4-year-old daughter, Essence, who, at times, cried for her dad on Monday.

Zedell said Essence is struggling to understand what happened to him.

“When I woke her up today, she had pictures of him all around her in the bed,” said Zedell, an associate at Wal-Mart.

Eichenlaub said police have some evidence in the case and are investigating leads, but he declined to elaborate.

Anyone who saw anything or has information about the accident is asked to call police at 323-3302, Eichenlaub said.

Nicole Scott, an assistant manager at the restaurant, said she saw Anderson surrounded by paramedics shortly after the accident.

His Burger King hat was lying in the roadway, she said.

“I wish I had seen something,” said Scott, who visited him Sunday in the hospital. “I think someone needs to be caught and punished.”

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

 

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