Louisville Marine veteran fighting for his life after hit-and-run as family pleads for answers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville Marine veteran is fighting for his life after a hit-and-run as his family pleads for answers.

As Mike Valentine lays in the hospital with a brain bleed, fractured skull and now, partially deaf, his family is asking for help to find the driver who never stopped and left him for dead.

Valentine was hit more than a week ago, on Oct. 3, and his family is wondering why anyone who hit someone wouldn't stop.

"I just don't know how people can be like that," Charlie Faust, Valentine's sister said. "My brother served his country for 15 years, and he got left for dead on the side of the road."

Eventually, a bystander found Valentine and called 911. Police are still investigating what happened.

Louisville Metro Police said last Tuesday, around 9:45 p.m., 48-year-old Valentine was riding his bike when a car hit him at 24th and Cedar streets in the city's Russell neighborhood.

His family said they've learned it could have been a white Dodge Charger with tinted windows, and believes the driver hit him from behind.

There were even tire marks left on his shoes.

Valentine served in the Marines and then the National Guard for 20 years, but fell on hard times after his service and battled addiction.

His sister said Valentine was in recovery and had been clean for several months.

Now with a brain injury, he's even struggling to remember who he is and who his family members are. His family is left devastated.

"I just stood there and cried," Faust said. "Stood there and cried and held his hand."

One positive development is that Valentine was taken off a ventilator and is now breathing on his own.

Police ask anyone who might know something about the driver to contact them at (502) 574-LMPD (5673) or on the online crime tip portal by clicking here. There is likely front end damage on this person's car.