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Green Cove Springs father nearly killed in 2018 hit-and-run says he forgives the driver

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. — A Green Cove Springs father said he’s found it in his heart to forgive the person who left him for dead on the side of the road.

In November 2018, Brandon Bachelor was walking to the store to get ice cream for his son when he was hit by a truck on Blanding Boulevard near Witch Hazel Road.

The driver has not been caught. The Florida Highway Patrol said a blue mirror belonging to a truck, possibly a Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra, was found at the crash site.

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A good Samaritan stopped and saved his life. Bachelor said he doesn’t know who that person was, but one day he’d like to thank them.

“I would’ve been dead. I would’ve been ran over a bunch of times,” Bachelor said.

Action News Jax reporter Christy Turner has been following Bachelor’s remarkable road to recovery since the crash.

At first, doctors didn’t think he would survive. His mother calls him a miracle.

Bachelor spent weeks in a hospital and underwent too numerous surgeries.

When he woke up from a coma, doctors told him he lost his leg and eyesight in the crash.

It’s been a difficult journey, but Bachelor has never been discouraged.

He said his sense of humor helps get through the tough times.

“When the doctors asked me how tall I am I say I was 6 feet, 1 inch. I was taller but I lost a foot.”

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Next week, Bachelor will receive his prosthetic leg. Soon, he’ll be going to a blind rehab program to start learning Braille.

Bachelor said his kids and family keep him motivated.

Bachelor said if FHP finds the driver, he wouldn’t want to press charges.

He said he’d like to ask the person behind the wheel why they left him, but he said he forgives them.

“You have to forgive to be forgiven. I forgive the person. I don’t have no grudge for them,” Bachelor said.