Akron man injured in a hit-and-run crash day before wedding by driver still on the loose

AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) – A soon-to-be groom had to postpone his wedding after a driver hit him on his motorcycle and left him bleeding on the side of the road.

Akron mom Jaci Shreve said she is grateful her son is alive, but he has a long recovery ahead of him including several surgeries.

Evan Shreve, 27, was on his motorcycle headed to his bachelor party last Friday night.

Shreve said her son was riding down I-76 in Akron when a man who was texting and driving crashed into him and took off.

“I had been running all day for the wedding and I was home maybe 10 minutes sitting on my patio putting my feet up and I was like okay I’m done and then my phone rang, and I got that call that no parent wants, that your child’s on the side of the road and you can’t get there fast enough,” said Jaci.

One day before Shreve’s son was set to get married, everything changed.

“I don’t even think I was breathing trying to get to him,” the mother recalled.

Akron police are investigating the crash as a hit-and-run.

Police told 19 News Evan Shreve was traveling west on I-76 a little before 8 p.m. Friday night when he was hit by a dark red Toyota Tacoma.

Witnesses also told police a man was driving the car and had been seen texting and driving before swerving into Evan’s lane hitting him and causing him to crash.

“It’s very hard as a mom to know that someone actually hit him on his bike and just left him,” Shreve said. “When I got the call there was talk in the background stay with us, stay with us so I knew he wasn’t in good shape because he wasn’t talking to me.”

Shreve raced to her son and when she got there and saw him, she feared the worst.

“I was so scared because they wouldn’t let me really get close to him,” the mom explained. “I couldn’t go in the ambulance to see him. He was bleeding a lot, more than I could ever think that a person should bleed from his head, from his elbow, different places but yeah, I was very afraid that by the time I got to the hospital I would not hear good news.”

Paramedics rushed Evan to Akron City Trauma Center.

He’s now back at home.

“He is wrapped up like a mummy,” said Shreve. “His arms, his leg, he is using a walking stick at this time to walk.”

His family is urging anyone with any information on this driver in a red Toyota Tacoma to come forward.

“If you’ve seen something please say something. I mean our child now is working on recovery instead of enjoying his honeymoon.”

Doctors said it could be months before Evan fully recovers and he could need surgeries on his hand, elbow, and knee. If you have any information on this crime, call the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2Tip, Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS or text TIPSCO with your tips to 274637. Callers can remain anonymous.

Akron police say 27-year-old Evan Shreve was hit by a man in a red Toyota Tacoma while he was on his motorcycle Friday. The driver took off.(Jaci Shreve)

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