Woman recovering following hit-and-run collision in Vernal, family members say

SALT LAKE CITY — A woman was seriously injured and recovering in the hospital Tuesday after a hit-and-run collision in Vernal.

Family members said 21-year-old Breanna Berry was riding her bicycle at the intersection of 500 South Vernal Avenue when a driver struck her.

Police said the car dragged the woman approximately three blocks before fleeing.

“According to people on Facebook, people could hear her screaming,” the woman’s sister, Sierra Walker, said in an interview with KSL TV Tuesday evening near the University of Utah Hospital. “She’s pretty beat up right now.”

Walker said Berry suffered road rash over most of her body, as well as a small brain bleed, a fractured neck and a fractured elbow.

She was likely to face a lengthy recovery, Walker said.

“She could not be here with us right now had her guardian angels not been with her,” Walker said. “The first thing she said to me was how scared she was and that she thought she was never going to see any of us again.”

In a statement posted to Facebook, police said they eventually tracked the suspect vehicle to a local apartment complex and took a person of interest into custody.

“We would like to thank the witnesses and members of our community for their assistance, as well as other law enforcement and medical agencies involved in the investigation and apprehension of the suspect,” the statement read.

Walker said she couldn’t believe what the driver did.

“You have to be a pretty evil person to hit somebody and not stop, and then run from the accident,” Walker said.

Family members said they planned to remain by Berry’s side as long as she needed.

“She’s just a really great person overall,” Walker said. “She did not deserve this.”