Broke Texas cyclist says he's lucky to be alive, suspected drunk driver identified

The cops say Benjamin Hylander — an American Airlines cargo worker — transformed his car into a retired doctor Tom Geppert and his fellow runner from the cycling group Deborah Eads near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Monday…and now we know the charges he's facing.

Remember…that was all caught in shocking viral footage — which shows Geppert and Eads getting hit from behind… and Geppert getting run over by the car. Now… TG is spilling the beans… telling a local media outlet that he's lucky to be alive.

Tom explained that the only thing he remembers is something pushing him from behind and then falling. As we see in the footage, the driver slowed down a bit… but then continued moving… crushing Tom's leg/body, which he says caused him to lose consciousness.

Doctors diagnosed Tom with a concussion after performing a CT scan. Additionally, he was left with a left hamstring injury, a fractured rib in the back and a serious laceration – which Deborah also suffered. Miraculously, they were not more seriously injured.

Looking on the bright side, Tom says he's “just incredibly lucky to still be alive” – ​​and he's grateful the car ran over his thigh, especially since the bike on top of him raised the car a little and served as a support. a pillow.

As for Hylander, he was arrested by the good Samaritans until the police arrived… who took him away in handcuffs. Police say he failed field sobriety tests as well as a breathalyzer…and he was convicted of 2 counts of intoxicated vehicular assault causing injury serious bodily injury, accident with injury and driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.15.