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Destin man charged after striking cyclist (PHOTO GALLERY, INCIDENT REPORT)
BLUEWATER BAY - A Destin man has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident after hitting a bicyclist on the Mid-Bay Bridge on Thursday evening.
Douglas Wayne Rutledge, 30, of Destin was charged with leaving the scene of a traffic accident with injuries and failing to drive in a single lane after an accident that sent one to the hospital.
Rutledge was driving southbound on State Road 293 on the Mid-Bay Bridge around 5:30 p.m. when he dropped a lit cigarette and bent down to pick it up, according to a Florida Highway Patrol media release.
As he was bending down, Rutledge told troopers he drifted into the paved shoulder and the passenger-side rear view mirror hit 71-year-old Berthold W. Schliesing, causing him to be ejected from his bicycle.
According to witnesses, Rutledge stopped and got out of his 1997 Sierra GMC following the collision and spoke to another driver in a silver vehicle. After a brief conversation, Rutledge fled the scene.
Schliesing was found on the north side of the bridge in the southbound lane with what appeared to be a head injury and a laceration to his abdomen, said North Bay Fire Department spokesman Butch Parker.
Traffic on the bridge was blocked while a medical helicopter landed to pick up the Niceville man and transport him to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Schliesing is listed in serious condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
“He appeared to be in pretty bad shape,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Michele Nicholson.
Both southbound and northbound traffic was halted following the wreck, Nicholson said. The bridge was opened back up as of 8:30 p.m.
Witnesses provided a detailed description of the vehicle and deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office located the vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol matched the damage on the truck with the accident and are investigating.
Rutledge, the registered owner of the truck, was contacted and told troopers he had left the scene but didn't know he had hit anything.
