Elderly Jogger Lucky To Survive Hit-And-Run Crash

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- An elderly man is recovering from injuries he suffered when someone hit him from behind with a truck during his Friday morning jog.

Arne Kvaalen, 86, was running his usual route -- the same one he has jogged for 20 years -- Friday morning when the hit-and-run incident happened, 6News' Sarah Cornell reported.

Kvaalen said Sunday that he considers himself very fortunate to have survived the ordeal, which happened at about 4:30 a.m. on Happy Hollow Road.

Surgery is scheduled for Monday. Meanwhile, Kvaalen sits in Home Hospital and counts his blessings.

"All I heard was a big bang and smack," he said. "The next thing I knew, I was down on the ground and I knew I had been hit. I was looking around for my glasses. They had been knocked off."

Kvaalen said another motorist stopped to see if he was OK. The man offered to call 911 but said he was in too big of a hurry to stay and help.

An ambulance arrived moments later and took Kvaalen to the hospital. He suffered broken bones in both legs and a broken shoulder.

Police have not been able to find the driver who hit Kvaalen, and he said it's possible that the driver didn't even know.

"Big trucks don't slow up for anything when they hit something," he said. "If it was a truck, even a pickup, they may not have even known it."

Kvaalen, who taught art at Purdue University for 30 years and lives in West Lafayette with his wife, runs early in the morning so he can make it to bible study at his church by 6 a.m.

"The Lord is good. He watches over you when you don't watch over yourself," he said. "He takes care of the fools."

Kvaalen said he was wearing white when he was struck but plans to wear reflectors from now on. He wasn't able to give police a good description of the vehicle that hit him.

Police asked anyone with information to call them at 765-775-5200.