VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The attorney for a hit-and-run victim is hoping new video will lead to an arrest.
“It is just awful,” said Emily Brannon.
Brannon was hired as Matthew Ahlschlager’s civil attorney less than a month ago. She has now become an investigator, trying to track down the driver who nearly killed him.
“It’s maddening and I’m on a mission,” Brannon said. “This is why I became a lawyer. At the end of the day I’m probably not going to make a dollar on this case and that’s okay, because this family needs justice.”
The hit-and-run happened around 3 a.m. June 14. A white car pulled onto Pacific Avenue near 9th Street.
“It has an emblem in the middle,” Brannon pointed out in an image of the suspect vehicle. “It has a sunroof. In this picture, you can see it is a sedan and not a coupe.”
The car is then seen coming though the intersection of 5th street and Pacific Avenue headed toward General Booth.
Just minutes later, 20-year-old Ahlschlager was on his bike heading home. He just left work and was about to cross Dam Neck and General Booth. He waited for the pedestrian light to change.
”He was waiting for his opportunity to go safely and then he goes,” Brannon said.
That’s when that same white car made a right-hand turn and slammed into Ahlschlager.
“You can see that vehicle brake and stop, clearly indicating that it’s [made] this hit, and continue to go,” Brannon added.
As the search continues to find the driver, Ahlschlager continues to recover at the hospital. He suffered a severe brain injury.
“It is almost as if he has no concept he is in the hospital,” Brannon said.
Bills have been mounting, and the family doesn’t have insurance.
“Bills are at $300,000 currently, and that’s just through two weeks ago,” Brannon added.
Ahlschlager is going to require long-term care. Brannon isn’t sure where it will come from.
“That’s the biggest issue right now, is that he will have significant physical limitations that will require adaptions to the home,” Brannon said. “The family will have to pay for that out of pocket and they don’t have the means.”
The recovery will take some time. Brannon hopes finding the driver won’t take nearly as long.
“It’s infuriating and frustrating,” Brannon said. “It is this feeling that you have a video of the person who did something and yet you can’t identify this person feels so grossly unfair to me.”
Brannon is asking for anyone with information on the case to give her office a call at 757-447-4192.
Watch WAVY News 10 at 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. for Jason Marks’ full story and to see the video.
