Bride-to-be, friends injured when hit and run driver hits cab - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic

Bride-to-be, friends injured when hit and run driver hits cab on night of bachelorette party

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By Ronnie Dahl
Fox 2 News


A bride's night out with her friends ended in the emergency room for all of them.  A driver smashed into their taxi and then took off.

The most serious of those injuries include broken bones.  The bride-to-be suffered a broken collar bone.  A bridesmaid has a shattered femur and is still in the hospital.  The person who caused their injuries is still out there.

"It was scary.  It was the most terrifying thing I've ever been through," says Terra Gallihugh.

"You just sit there in shock and you can't believe what just happened," says Suzie Esch.

Terra, Suzie and five other friends, including the bride-to-be did the right thing.  They called a cab after they had been drinking.

They were on their way home after the bars closed Saturday night.  As the cab approached the intersection of North Stephenson Highway and Gardenia Avenue in Madison Heights, a truck came out of nowhere and slammed into the taxicab van.

"All of a sudden, we just all got hit and we all flew to the left side," Gallihugh says.  "It got really silent and then it was just all of us, we were just screaming."

The passenger side of the cab was crushed.  Everyone inside was injured.

"One maid of honor has a broken leg.  She has stitches on her face.  Another girl has stitches in her arm.  One girl has a bruised liver and kidney area.  She's actually all black and blue in her midsection.  The bride-to-be has broken collar bone," Esch says.

Whoever caused the damage never stopped.  Madison Heights police are now trying to track him or her down.

"Based on eyewitness accounts, as well as some evidence that was left at the scene, we've determined that the striking vehicle was a black 2012 Dodge Ram pickup and it should have significant front end damage," says Detective Tom Kenyon.

Despite their injuries, the wedding is still on and scheduled for Saturday at Crystal Gardens in Southgate.

They are hoping the bridesmaid still in the hospital will be out in time for the wedding.  If she is released, she won't be able to walk down the aisle.  She'll require a wheelchair.

  • Ronnie DahlRonnie Dahl

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