Cyclist who was hit brings awareness to sharing the road

One of four cyclists hit by a driver, who reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, is speaking with FOX 7. She wants everyone to know the importance of sharing the road.

Wendy Meyer is out of the hospital. Looking back at the crash, she says changes need to be made to many roads in Austin but it's also up to drivers to do their part.

It was supposed to be a normal Saturday ride for Meyer and three other cyclists. But, things took a turn for the worse.

"All of a sudden I heard a huge loud gunshot sound. The next thing I knew, I was rolling on top of a car and then all of a sudden, I was on top of the roof," says Wendy Meyer, cyclist who was hit.

According to court documents, when officers responded to South Pleasant Valley Road and Elmont Drive they found the cyclists bleeding on the ground. Meyer was left with several injuries, including torn ligaments in her neck, a fractured vertebrae, along with the emotional and physical pain. She hopes her story can bring awareness to sharing the road.

"Everyone needs to be aware, aware, aware right now and cautious. The roads can't change overnight. So, just being cautious, knowing how easily you can change somebody's life and how you could hurt them. You don't want it to be your child. You don't want it to be your relatives, you know, so think about that," says Meyer.

The driver of that car, 25-year-old Devin Donnell Rodriguez, told police he had fallen asleep. He's been charged with driving with an invalid license. It's a penalty that Meyer wishes would have been harsher.

"I mean if no one gets charged for things like this, there's not going to be awareness. There's not going to be, 'Okay, well that's something I've got to keep in the back of my head.' Things that are kept low, or your treated like you're just a garbage can, it's not going to go in their head," says Meyer.

Meyer has been cycling for years and says this crash won't keep her from living out her passion. She's just thankful the outcome wasn't worse.

"My bike was drug underneath his car, that could have been me. I could not be telling this story right now. So that's one of the hardest things to work through. We could have all been killed," says Meyer.

As for the other cyclists, Meyer says one remains in the hospital but will be moving to rehab.