BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — The driver responsible for the crash that left a Boulder cyclist permanently disabled pleaded guilty Friday, more than two years after a crash on Arapahoe Road.
In July of 2019, Andrew “Bernie” Bernstein was riding westbound on Arapahoe Road when police say a driver hit him, knocking him into an embankment.
Bernstein would remain in the ditch for about 30 minutes before Tim Gillach spotted him.
“I came over the bluff coming down the hill,” Gillach told FOX31 last year. “And a couple hundred yards later I pulled over to the side of the road, and looked at my father and said, ‘Hey, did you see that?’”
Gillach spotted Bernstein’s crumpled red bike, before finding Bernie, who was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
It took more than a year for Colorado State Patrol to identify the driver, but last November, an arrest warrant was issued for 49-year-old Stephen Grattan.
Grattan was ultimately arrested in June during a traffic stop.
Friday, he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, careless driving, and criminal attempt to commit leaving the scene of an accident.
Bernstein offered a statement following the proceedings, talking about how his life has changed forever.
“I’m glad he was there to hear first-hand what I’ve been through,” Bernstein said. “He has not adequately demonstrated remorse, at any point, but it did seem like he’s maybe trying to.”
Grattan did offer a brief apology.
“I want to say that I’m sorry to everybody that’s involved in this,” Grattan said. “I am taking full responsibility for this act, and I would like to apologize to Andrew.”
He was sentenced to two years in a correctional facility.
“The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. I have an injury that will follow me for the rest of my life. It could have an impact on the longevity of my life, and my ability to become a father,” Bernstein said. “The assailant will go to prison, which I appreciate, but then he will get out of prison, and he will finish his parole and then he will be able to drive again and go on with his life as it is.”