FORT SMITH, Ark. — Update: A suspect was arrested on Oct. 21.
The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) is still investigating a hit-and-run crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV that happened on Belle and Grand Avenue on Sept. 11 around 7:23 p.m.
Today, police are still looking for the driver from that incident. The victim, Dillon Elkins, recounted the incident that left him with what police say are non-life-threatening injuries.
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"I turned left onto Grand out of a red light and an SUV came between George's and Taco Bell and didn't stop and hit me in the rear driver's side of the motorcycle," Elkins said. "When it lost traction, it drove me into a curb, and I went through the curb and had to lay it down, and then it hit a bus stop sign or something, and I landed in the El Super Taco parking lot."
Elkins is a private contractor and just opened his business Elkins Renovation, LLC. Elkins said he was just getting off work when the crash happened.
"I had just completed my fourth or fifth big job, and had just got off of work, fresh out of the shower, didn't really have time to even eat dinner before this happened," he said. "I'll be out of work for the next six months, at the bare minimum."
It's been almost a week since the traumatic event took place in his life.
"It's definitely the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced in my entire life, to say the least," Elkins said.
Although he will recover from the injuries sustained from the crash, the road to recovery is expected to last at least five months.
"I had a pretty invasive surgery ... They had to put pins all the way through from my ankle up to my knee to keep the bone together because it was in pretty rough shape," Elkins said. "Also, my LCL is stretched but will heal on its own. My clavicle and shoulder are both broken, and I have to return in 10 weeks after I have this splint removed to have my ankle redone as well."
Although FSPD originally reported the vehicle as "undisclosed," police said witnesses' photos helped them identify the make and model of the SUV that hit Elkins. However, there's still limited information at this time.
"He described the driver as a white female, unknown age," Capt. Daniel Grubbs said. "It appears that the vehicle was licensed, but we just can't tell by the detail what state ... Us being a border state, it does make these types of investigations pretty challenging because we do see a lot of migrant traffic between Oklahoma and Arkansas on a daily basis."
FSPD said hit-and-runs are hard to solve and they hope the community can help get justice for the victim. Grubbs is asking anyone who works at a body shop to be on the lookout for a Chevrolet SUV with damage to the headlights or the front of the vehicle.
"It's very common that sometimes hit-and-run accidents are claimed to be animal involved. So if you have any of those details involved, we would ask that you reach out to the police department and we can put you in touch with the investigator," Grubbs said.
Grubbs said the suspect would face felony hit-and-run charges.
For now, Elkins said he'll focus on being healthy again and hopes someone will come forward.
"It makes me feel pretty small, and I didn't do anything to deserve that," he said. "I really hope that whoever it is will do the right thing because this is going to change my life forever, and I've got a family that relies on me that I can't be there for right now."
If you'd like to help Elkins, here's the link to donate.
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