POLK CITY, Iowa —An Iowa man is recovering in a Des Moines hospital after a bicycle hit-and-run crash early Sunday.

The crash happened on Northwest 44th Street near Saylorville Lake about 2:15 a.m. A vehicle hit him from behind and then left the scene.

Tom Lueck was flown by air ambulance Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Wednesday, he is listed in serious but stable condition.

Tom's wife, Angela, said Lueck was riding home alone after a long bike ride with his friends. She wasn't expecting him home until late, but the wakeup call she received was worse than any nightmare of her life.

"I was so scared because I didn't know if he was going to live or not," said Angela Lueck.

Lueck was nearly home when he was hit. Based on the his injuries and damage to his bike, authorities believe the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed.

"Pretty much everything went through my mind. You know, we've got two boys who are both 7-years-old. They need their dad," said Angela Lueck.

Tom Lueck broke his tailbone, seven ribs, both legs and a collapsed lung.

He was found lying on a road by a driver who then called 911.

"They saw something on the highway and they decided to turn around and I'm so glad they made that decision because he would not be alive today without them," said Angela Lueck.

She said the bike was equipped with a headlight and red flashing taillights.

The State Patrol said they don't have any leads yet about the driver involved in the crash.

"We are searching for the individual that struck the bicyclist. We're at a standstill now, because first of all we don't have any witnesses," said State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Scott Bright.

Given the time of the crash, Angela Lueck wonders if the driver was either drunk or thought they hit a deer.

"We're hopeful we'll find who did this, I mean if they find it was a habitual drunk driver I would like to see them off the roads," said Angela Lueck.

"In cases like this, we depend on the public to help us out because right now there's no paint marks on the bicycle, there's nobody that witnessed it, the bicyclist can't remember anything, it's late at night," said Bright.

Lueck is expected to be in the hospital for at least a month. His family asks for prayers as he has a long road to recovery ahead.