Family looking for a miracle after Louisville dad hit by car while riding bike

LOUSIVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville family is looking for answers after a man was hit by a car and abandoned on Poplar Level Road last Thursday. 

Hannah Nussbaum said her partner, Nathan Green, was riding his bike home from work Thursday night when he was struck by a car. 

"I hadn't heard from him but that wasn't super unusual. He works late and he sometimes goes to the gym after work. I had been texting him because I didn't want to call him because he rides his bike," said Nussbaum. "Eventually, it just got too late and I was getting worried and I called him and UofL Hospital picked up the phone." 

Green was thrown from his bike and suffered multiple broken bones throughout his body.

"Arms, legs, ribs, spine and wrist," she said. "One of his legs is broken in five places." 

Nathan was wearing his helmet at the time, but Nussbaum said his doctors informed her he still suffered a traumatic brain injury.

"He kind of sat me down and he said, 'We don't know if he will wake up tomorrow with a bad headache or if he won't ever wake up again,'" she said. "You don't get a second to breathe to understand what that means."

Nussbaum said Nathan has managed to move a finger and seems to be responding occasionally to touch, but is still unconscious in the ICU.

Nussbaum says the car that hit him fled the scene, and Green was left abandoned until a homeless man nearby found him and got help. 

"That man saved Nathan's life. The rate at which Nathan was bleeding out, he would not have lasted," she said. "We don't know his name, we don't know where he's at, but we want to thank him. He saved Nathan's life." 

Green is a volunteer at Falls City Community Bikeworks. The nonprofit is a free shop that is open two days a week for anyone who needs help with their bike.

Green works alongside the shop's executive director Laurance Levine. 

Levine said Green is always willing to lend a helping hand to whomever needs it. 

"Nathan is the kind of guy that will do anything for anyone. He's probably the most compassionate person I've met," said Levine. 

Levine said Green always prioritizes safety and often teaches safety courses at the shop.

"I was in utter shock when I heard about the accident," said Levine. "It strikes a nerve for me because I'm also a cyclist and I like to share the road with vehicles and would like to see a more peaceful way of commuting." 

For now, Nussbaum said she's focused on supporting Green and being a source of comfort for their young daughter, Ronan.

She said she knows that her father is in the hospital, but is too young to fully grasp the severity of the situation.  

"There's going to be a day where I just collapse and I know that's going to happen. But I kind of think my brain knows right now, I'm needed," Nussbaum said. "I need to be there for him and I need to be there for her. I will be there for my family."

Nussbaum says she still can't understand how someone could just leave after the accident. She's hopeful the community will step forward with answers regarding who was behind the wheel.

"Horror, I just kept saying this is the most horrific thing I could imagine," she said. "It's anger, but it's also just confusion. Like why did that happen? Who did that? Why didn't they stop? Just why?"

Anyone with information regarding the crash should call police at 574-LMPD.

The family has also started an email for tips and to collect donations. To be in contact, email: thegreenfamilyteam@gmail.com.

Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.

Top Stories on WDRB.com

6 Louisville pools shut down after testing positive for bacteria

2-year-old dies after drowning in pool in Louisville's Valley Station neighborhood

State audit finds JCPS fostered a 'culture of fear,' lacked a clear financial plan for years

Body found during search near abandoned vehicle on southern Indiana hiking trail