Steamboat Pilot & Today

A motorist who struck and seriously injured a man in 2002 was back in court Wednesday. He pleaded guilty to a harassment charge and a bail-bond violation related to the vehicular assault case was dismissed.

Thomas Coleman pleaded guilty to phone harassment of an unnamed victim. That harassment was considered a violation of bail-bond conditions related to the vehicular assault case, though the bail-bond violation charge was dismissed.

For pleading guilty to harassment, Coleman was fined and sentenced to one year unsupervised probation.

Last February, Coleman pleaded guilty to vehicular assault. Charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to notify police and leaving the scene of an injurious accident were dropped. In September, he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $21,010 in restitution.

The vehicular assault victim, Jerry Bryant, 44, was paid $300,000, but Coleman's insurance company covered the majority of that cost.

According to police reports, Coleman hit Bryant about 1 a.m. June 23, 2002, near the intersection of Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue, then sped away and later abandoned his vehicle, a Porsche convertible.

Bryant's left knee was injured and his skull and left thumb were fractured after he apparently was thrown onto the sports car's hood and hit the windshield, shattering it, before landing on the street, where he remained until help arrived.

Police said Coleman likely drove another block before turning onto Eighth Street. Police said an officer arrived within minutes of the incident and found the Porsche parked in front of a restaurant on Eighth Street. Coleman was nowhere to be found.

Colorado law requires motorists to remain at the scene of an accident and render assistance as necessary.