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Motorcyclist Struck by Van

By Dana Willhoit
The Ledger
dana.wilhoit@theledger.com

LAKELAND -- After a van collided with a motorcyclist Wednesday morning and left him in critical condition, all the people in the van jumped out and ran away, police said.

The wreck happened shortly before 7 a.m., a witness told police. Stephen James Mead, 43, was riding a 2004 Yamaha motorcycle south on Galloway Road and stopped at the New Tampa Highway intersection.

When the light turned green, Mead started through the intersection. Emily Higgins, who was in her car behind the motorcycle, told police she looked to her left and saw a 1990 Chevrolet van run a red light and hit Mead's motorcycle.

The van pushed Mead and his motorcycle across New Tampa Highway onto the southeast shoulder of the road.

The van's driver and passengers jumped out and ran across a field, police said. Witnesses saw between four and 10 people run out of the van, Lakeland police said. Police searched the area but did not find any of the people who had been in the van. The case remains under investigation.

Mead was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition Wednesday.

The van is registered to Hernandez Ginez Meliton, of 14284 County Road 64, Greeley, Colo., police said.