7/27/2007 Friday night Chicago Critical Mass--accident, need info

[repto]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum, so if I make any mistakes, please bear with me.

Last friday night, my family (5) and a young friend of my daughter's rode in Chicago's Critical Mass. We've been doing CCM rides since 2001, and we are very experienced cyclists (kids included). There were at least 1500 cyclists for this ride, with the destination being the endangered Berwyn Spindle (public art Car-kebob, featured in Wayne's World movie).

We were at the end of the Mass, on 18th Street, riding through the wonderful Pilsen neighborhood when all hell broke lose. A maroon car with front end damage came careening off Throop street, and proceeded to plow through the tail end of the Mass of about 100 cyclists. Bikers scattered in all directions trying to avoid him. Unfortunately, my 10 year old son wasn't so fortunate, and he was hit by this alleged drunken driver (who actually accelerated into him).

Thankfully, my son suffered no permanent damage. He will recover. He is also moving beyond his fear of getting on a bike again.

The State's Attorney's office is seeking any other victims of this crime. The driver was uninsured and had a revoked driver's license. I would like to see him unable to drive a car for a very long time. The more evidence they have of this driver's willful and reckless driving, the better the chances of keeping him off the road.

If you were injured or your bike damaged in this incident, PLEASE contact me offlist (at repto@aol.com, or at 708-388-8662). If you know of anyone who was injured or who's bike was damaged, please forward this email to them! Time is of the essence, so please feel free to forward this to any listservs or other cycling venues that you are aware of.

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago+news/2007/7/30/Driver_runs_through_Critical_Mass_injures_young_rider
Tiny url link--
http://tinyurl.com/2ww3na
The Sun-Times has interviewed me, but I'm not sure if they have run the article yet or not.

Thank you for any and all help!

Jane Healy
mom to Will (10), Katie (7) and Genevieve (3)

p.s. I've included a photo of his legs taken today. You can't see it in this photo, but his entire right lower leg is swollen. His elbows, left hip, right arm and face are also bruised. And yes, he WAS wearing his helmet (thank God).

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Good luck finding him. I sincerely hope he gets whatever the law can hand him.

[PDXJeff]

Wow, truly unbelievable. Best wishes to your son. I hope that the driver is punished accordingly. Best of luck.

[Blue Order]

My best wishes for your son's speedy recovery, and my sympathies for what your family is going through. Best of luck with finding witnesses and getting this guy off the road-- permanently.

[Tom Stormcrowe]

If you have a bike blog, cross post this....I did! Let's see if we can help this family out!

[jjvw]

You may want to send this out to the General forum to get more Chicago people who don't necessarily read the regional discussions.

Best wishes to your son.

[benbaconlewis]

Good luck. Sounds like this guy should not only be off the road, but also in prison.

Please keep us updated with developments.

Glad your son is on the mend.

[Brian]

If you have a bike blog, cross post this....I did! Let's see if we can help this family out!

I just might do that.

[BikingGrad80]

You should also post this on the cycling newsgroups such as rec.bicycles.misc. Many Chicago bikers also subscribe to them.

[jilla82]

wow, I was actually there. I made a thread about it the day after, but it got wild and closed. But anyway, me and my buddy were trying to find someone else in our group...next thing you know you see that Caddie barrel through the people, I look a little behind me and I see him ram your son (wow, he is so lucky to be alive, I that i was going to see a dead body). Me and my friend freak out and go in the direction of the car (like we could have caught him) but end up finding where the cops got him. We gave our info to the cops as witnessess and rolled back to see that your boy was ok.

I actually remember riding behind you guys for a good part of the ride. I remember thinking how if I have a family one day I would want to have my kids out like that.

What charges are they going to press against the guy?

[repto]

Thanks for all the emotional support.

Will is doing fine. He was hesitant to go out on a bike solo for the first couple of weeks post accident, but took a couple of rides with his dad on a tandem. We were able to buy him a new bike this weekend, now that he's not so stiff and sore. He was very excited to take it for a spin Sat. evening and again on Sunday.

Re. the court case: A Grand Jury found enough evidence to charge the driver with 4 felony counts, but these are based on his evading arrest and leaving the scene of an accident. There are no specific charges for the injuries that Will suffered, because there was no grievous bodily harm and only one person (my son) ever reported injuries. The next court date is Aug. 23rd.

It is highly unlikely that we will get any money back to cover the replacement of the bike and Will's medical bills. The driver did not have a license and was uninsured. I am hopeful that the driver will be convicted and will serve some jail time. Hopefully rehab will be part of that punishment (driver's blood alcohol was nearly 2x the legal limit). This guy should not be driving a car as he is a danger to society when behind the wheel of a car. Poetic justice would see him riding a bike as his primary mode of transportation for a long time!

Jane Healy

[bibliobob]

Glad to hear that your son is doing well and that he's not scared to get back out there. Best of luck to you.