HOUSTON – A Rosenberg man is accused of hitting a 21-year-old motorcyclist and dragging his body half a mile before speeding off and abandoning his car in September.
Jerime Clayton Harmon, 36, has since been charged with a failure to stop and render aid with serious bodily injury. His attorney told KPRC 2 he turned himself in Tuesday and has since been released on a $20,000 bond.
On Sept. 4, deputies with the Harris County Precinct 7 Constable’s Office responded to reports of a hit-and-run crash in the 4100 South Sam Houston Tollway East around 10:30 p.m., according to court documents.
The victim, 21-year-old Christopher Reed, was riding his motorcycle with his friend when Harmon, who was driving a white sedan, allegedly hit Reed and then sped off.
Reed had his left leg amputated and spent three weeks in the hospital.
“I literally blinked, and my life is forever changed,” Reed told KPRC 2. “It all comes flooding back, especially when I’m trying to fall asleep.”
He’s struggling to hold on to hope as he waits for a prosthetic leg and foot, dealing with PTSD and depression, and missing his favorite pastime - riding his motorcycle.
“Really the only question I have is, just like, why’d you run?” Reed said.
According to court documents, investigators tracked Harmon down using a mirror they found knocked off his car at the scene, toll road cameras, and surveillance video from about 10 miles from the crash scene, which they say shows him abandoning his car.
The car was later towed by HPD, and when investigators contacted the storage lot where it was located, they were told the car had been released to an insurance company, documents show.
The insurance company told investigators a claim had been filed with Harmon listed as the driver, according to court documents.
Court records show he has a previous DWI charge out of Fort Bend County.
His attorney told KPRC 2 his client is presumed innocent, and they are still waiting for prosecutors to hand over the evidence.
Reed lost a lot of blood while waiting for first responders the night of the crash, as several Good Samaritans pulled over to help, including Kevin Swope.
“If I drove off, I don’t think would have been ok with myself,” Swope said.
He applied life-saving measures, removing his belt and using it as a tourniquet on Reed, to help stop the bleeding.
“I would hope that anybody that was driving by and saw something like that would do the same thing,” Swope said. “If I was laying on the side of the road, I would hope that somebody would stop.”
Reed and Swope met for the first time Wednesday night.
In the days after the crash, Swope and his wife saw KPRC 2′s initial story about Reed’s condition and reached out to get in touch with Reed, just glad to see he survived.
“I was glad to hear that there are still good people out and about, but it doesn’t soften the blow much,” Reed said.
Reed and Swope both said it appeared the driver was trying to race Reed and his friend on their motorcycles, traveling dangerously close to them.
Reed’s advice for other motorcyclists is to wear protective gear, including a helmet like he did, and always check their mirrors.
“I’m not hopeful anything is ever going to go back to normal, because it’s going to be a different normal,” Reed said.
If you’d like to help Reed with the ongoing medical expenses and eventual prosthetics, you can donate to this GoFundMe.