PENDLETON — A Madison County judge was struck by a car while riding his bike in an apparent hit-and-run accident Monday.

Superior Court 5 Judge Thomas Clem was not seriously injured in the accident.

Clem said he normally rides his bicycle 11 miles each day along the same Pendleton route.

He was taking his nightly bicycle ride when a vehicle struck him from behind, throwing him from the bike.

The accident occurred at about 5 p.m. Monday as Clem rode his bike up a hill along County Road 600 South near Ovid.

Clem was knocked down and the car sped off, leaving the judge on the side of the road.

As Clem crawled to safety, his wife Carla Clem said Tuesday, a good Samaritan stopped and picked him up, giving him a ride home.

Clem identified the good Samaritan as Merrill Conway of Ovid.

After arriving home, Clem decided to get his injuries checked out and went to an emergency room where doctors discovered that Clem’s injuries were not life-threatening, Carla Clem said.

Judge Clem said CT scans of his head and back revealed that he didn’t have a concussion or a broken back.

“He hit his head and his leg and his back and his hip. Nothing’s broken, that they can see,” Carla Clem said.

Clem was absent from court Tuesday as he recovered from his injuries. He doesn’t expect to return to the bench this week.

“I’m in a lot of pain,” he said.

After speaking with Conway, Clem has a better picture of what happened to him Monday night but his own memory is blurry. “I was unconscious,” he said.

Clem said he hopes the person responsible for his accident comes forward, and assumes they did not stick around to help him because they were afraid.