Riah Luby was walking through a downtown Baltimore crosswalk on her way to work when an SUV slammed into her, sending the 26-year-old paralegal flying into the air and leaving her with bruises, road rash and a painful contusion on her leg.
Then the driver pulled over, briefly checked his vehicle for damage and drove away. Surveillance video shared with The Banner captured the Sept. 3 collision and the moments that followed.
“I rolled off this guy’s car pretty hard,” said Luby, who was hit about 9 a.m. at the intersection of Charles and Fayette streets.
Luby, of Parkville, who was in shock in the immediate aftermath of the collision, also said she felt “outraged” because she saw the driver “pull over and not even come over and say anything. He just got out of his car for a second and then took off.”
The video shows a vehicle strike a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian is launched into the air along with some belongings.
Footage also captures the driver pulling over in a bus lane on Fayette Street. He is wearing a yellow Maryland Transit Administration vest when he briefly checks the front passenger’s side of the vehicle before he gets back in and drives away.
Video shows the SUV driving northbound on Charles Street before making a left and continuing westbound on Fayette Street.
Luby said she was taken to a hospital by ambulance and X-rays showed no fractures. She also spoke to a Baltimore Police officer about the incident. More than a week after the collision, Luby said her legs and hips are sore and she had a big contusion on her left shin.
She said the driver owes her an apology and she would like to see him face legal repercussions.
“It was a hit-and-run. He should face a consequence for that,” Luby told The Banner on Saturday. “He’s clearly just a danger to society if that’s typical driving behavior from this guy.”
No one with Baltimore Police, the MTA or the Maryland Department of Transportation, which oversees the MTA, responded to multiple inquires about the collision Saturday afternoon.
Luby works at Franklin & Prokopik on Charles Street. Her colleague Jack Stephenson, 24, is a paralegal at the same firm. He was walking close to Luby when he saw the collision.
“She flew up and got back up,” Stephenson said. “I was like, ‘holy moly.”’
Stephenson was one of several bystanders who rushed to aid Luby. He said it was “disheartening” the driver “wasn’t human enough to stop and check on the person that they hit.”
Stephenson tracked down video of the collision from a nearby building. He said it had to be done.
“We do a lot of motor vehicle accidents. ... Chasing every lead down is important to kind of paint the picture of what happened.”
Luby said, despite her anger, she knows she is lucky she was not seriously injured and is grateful to the bystanders who helped.
“They were able to stop what they were doing and help, just out of the kindness of their hearts.”
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