Pacific Northwest - Two cyclists hit by driverless truck in Seattle

My wife told me about this after I got home tonight. We checked a number of different sites before we found one that actually had the story.

KOMO TV Report (http://www.komotv.com/news/15073291.html)

I heard about it tonight at my spin class. I hope they are ok.

This is just so messed up. :(

I ride that area sometimes. I always considered it relatively safe, although the roads aren't that great. There are lots of big rigs that run those roads.

Whomever "secured" that truck to that crane deserves whatever he gets. Safety lines? There are reasons wreckers are required to have and use them. Reasons like this.

I hope the riders are OK. The wife said that the story on the noon news said one of them was 70 years old.

I think the driver of the crane is going to be getting charged with various 'failures to do', as he would be responsible for the safe securing of the pickup being towed.

I'm just glad that the cyclists are all right, and that there were no fatalities.

East Hill

Wow, I ride that road everyday and have seen that crane or one just like it. Imagine what that would have done to me on my trike. Thanks god they are both OK, does anyone know how badly they were hurt?

I haven't seen any updates...

East Hill

Yep, this is my route too. Scary. Although the traffic along here is generally ok, much of it is utility. I'm always worried about something flying off of a truck (judging by debris in the road) or someone colliding with someone else (excessive speeds) and ricocheting into me. Did any of you encounter the WIDE OPEN GRAY METAL gate two weeks ago, at the cruise ship terminal? The sucker was opened all the way across the sidewalk and the parking/bike lane, and practically invisible due to gray road and sky. I only noticed it last minute and had time to do an evasive manouever. They had an orange "cone" apparently merely to hold it open, not provide any safety feature whatsoever. If I had been on the sidewalk, I would have been toast. I shut the gate.

For a second, I thought the article would say "Owner found watching TV in the back seat!' :p

This proves that cars are out to get bikes!

Kent Peterson posted this update over at the Cascade boards:

Louise is out of the hospital now and is recovering at home. She's in very good spirits and she's strong as a bear. I think the doctors weren't used to seeing somebody as fit as Louise, they'd been concerned about her low pulse rate but that seems to be a function of her big cyclist's heart. And BTW, the other cyclist whose name I didn't get (sorry), was a seventy year old guy who was on his way to the Y to work out. And it sounds like he is going to be fixed up OK as well. Louise's comment, when she was told she was being discharged and it was OK for her to walk around a bit was "can I ski?" She was told that isn't a good idea yet.

BTW, for those folks who say cyclists NEVER stop at lights, both Louise and this fellow stopped at this red light. The crane driver stopped at this red light. The truck that was supposed to be attached to the crane just kept rolling. I'm pretty sure it was the crane driver who called 911. As far as Louise and the other driver's injuries and bike damages being covered, I sure can't say for 100% certainty but I can tell you that the folks from the crane company are expressing extreme concern and nervousness. If I was in their shoes, I'd be feeling the same way and I wouldn't be hesitant to write a couple of checks once the investigation is done and the extent of all the injuries is known. And Louise and the Bicycle Alliance have some pretty good cycling friends who also happen to have some pretty good legal credentials that will be working to make sure things balance out.

I've worked with Louise for a couple of years, her desk is right next to mine. She keeps track of what happens with the Bicycle Alliance money but more importantly, she makes things happen for cyclists. And even though she has to spend a lot of time sitting in meetings and lobbying folks, and sending emails and all that other not-very-exciting bike advocacy stuff, she also gets out there. She rides, she hikes, she gets things done. A couple of months ago I was out at the opening of the High-Point Trail Connector in Issaquah. I was representing the Bicycle Alliance there and I was walking along the trail chatting with one of the Issaquah City Councilmen. As we hiked along the trail, this guy says to me "Do you know Louise?" "Sure," I replied. "She and I were the first ones to hack our way through the blackberry thorns and map out this route years ago," the fellow tells me. That didn't surprise me. And I wasn't surprise that Louise hadn't told me this. She's one of those people who knows what matters is working together to get things done and she's to busy doing the work to spend much time talking about it.

That's what I know right now. Louise will be back working to make cycling better in our town and our state soon. Thanks to everybody for all their concern.

Be careful out there.

Thank you very much for the update, SS! It's good to know that both of the cyclists are all right, and what a nice story about Louise :) .


(oh, and welcome to BikeForums!)

East Hill

That's great news! I'm very glad that both riders are expected to be OK. I just wish this hadn't happened.

The line about the doctors not expecting her to be in such good shape is funny, but consistent with my own experiences. I guess they expect everyone to be a couch potato these days.