VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The moment that Jeremy Hough’s life changed forever was all caught on camera.

Hough was walking to the bus stop on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Kellam Road last July when he was hit by a car and left for dead. It was caught on surveillance video by a nearby business.

“I briefly felt the hit, and then the next thing I really remember is the ambulance people over me,” Hough said.

“I broke quite a few bones in my right leg, bones in my left left leg,” he said. “A traumatic brain injury, my head was split open pretty well. [The driver] basically killed me on the side of the road.”

At the time, Hough was homeless, newly recovered from many years of drug abuse. Getting hit by the car didn’t just set him back. He says it forced him to start over – on an even tougher road to recovery.

“I still have surgeries to do,” Hough said. “I just would like to get this [person] and hold him accountable,” Hough said.

Hough was one part of 2,087 hit-and-run incidents involving people or property reported to Virginia Beach police from Jan. 1 – Nov. 30, 2022. A Freedom of Information Act reveals that 1,650 of those cases are listed as “pending inactive.” That’s at least 79% of cases left unsolved.

Now living in a sober house, Hough said life is much better for him these days. He’s working his way back to health and staying on the straight path.

In a way, he said he has the crash to thank for that.

“I don’t take life for granted anymore,” he said, adding, “I’m lucky to be alive and I never would have appreciated something so simple before that day.”

If you know anything about Jeremy’s case, you are asked to reach out to the Virginia Beach Police with information.