Black Country father injured in hit-and-run was trying to save his friend
A man who suffered a serious head injury when he was struck by a car had pushed his friend out of the way seconds before he was hit.
Father-of-two Daniel Wheeler, 31, was enjoying a night out with friends when he was hurt after a car mounted the pavement, in Bridge Street, in Walsall, on September 11.
The silver-coloured VW Golf did not stop and was captured on street cameras driving round the town centre then colliding into bollards in George Street before heading towards the Caldmore area.
Today his partner Lizz Chambers, 29, of Carnegie Avenue, in Tipton, described the driver behind the wheel as "heartless" for fleeing the scene.
"Dan was trying to save his friend. He saw the car coming and pushed his mate out of the way and got the brunt of it himself.
"He was in Bridge Street on a night out when a car hit him and the driver carried on and left him for dead. Apparently it damaged othrt cars as it left the area.
"He doesn't go out very often, but his friend invited him out and he went.
"He is more of a family man. He is more interested in going to motor shows rather than going out drinking.
"He suffered a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain. He is awake and I managed to speak to him for about a minute or so. He is recovering, but slowly.
"I think the person responsible for this is heartless. They are lowlifes and they have no conscience to do something like this and run off.
"This has been really hard for us as a family. I'm already struggling with health problems. I've had to explain to our kids why their dad hasn't come home from a night out. My daughter's school has been giving us a lot of support.
"I'm hoping that witnesses and anyone who knows who is responsible will come forward."
The couple have two children, aged three and five.
Mr Wheeler, a forklift driver, was admitted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
West Midlands Police stated: “We are asking anyone with dashcam or phone footage of the incident to please get in touch.
“We are particularly looking for sightings of any silver VW golf cars in the area, similar to the one pictured, with damage to the front end.
“Please speak to us via Live Chat on our website west-midlands.police.uk and quote log 635 of 11/09/21.”
