I just witnessed a cyclist die after being hit by a car.
Its hard to write this as I'm still somewhat rattled over what I witnessed this morning.
I live in Miami. This morning I was riding on the Rickenbacker Causeway, which is a favorite cycling route on the weekends for hundreds, if not thousands of cyclists. As I approach the Bear Cut bridge, which is two lanes in each direction, with a divider, and a fairly wide break down lane that doubles as a bike lane, I see a group of stopped cyclists waving to cars to move to the left hand lane. As I get closer, there is a cyclist on the right hand edge of the break down lane in a pool of blood, bright red arterial blood mixed with what looks like spinal fluid and some brain matter. He is bleeding out of his ears and mouth.
One or two other cyclists, one of whom is a paramedic are already helping him. He is breathing about 3 or 4 times a minute. They don't detect a pulse in his wrist. The police arrive shortly and they have a hand operted respirator which the paramedic starts to use as another person does chest compressions. It takes almost half an hour for the ambulance to come. I was told by other cyclists later he died at the scene. I salute the cyclist parmedic. He cooly took control of a chaotic scene and did everything he could to save this guys life but his injuries were too great.
The guy that hit him didn't stop, dragging the cyclists bicycle about five miles before it fell off. He was caught by police as he was arriving at his house. A group of us find out where the driver is and head out there. The car, a smaller VW, has the windshield broken and caved in a good ten inches. The windshield frame at the top is pushed back about 8 inches and there is even damage to the sunroof. Based on the damage, the driver had to be going 60mph+ in a 40-45 mph zone. I suspect that since the car hit the cyclist from behind, the back of the cyclists head hit the windshield frame which caused the fatal injury.
The driver is sitting in the back seat of one of the cop cars, but I can't see him because of the tinted windows. He's lucky the cops had him because there was an angry mob of cyclists that wanted revenge.
I just can't fathom how someone can hit another human being and just take off and leave the person on the side of the road like he had hit a dog.
Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
"So I was riding my bike up a 15% gradient and the Di2 shifted itself into the big ring, the garmin started flashing and the powertap went into reverse and I got dropped."
my god. this is terrible to hear. my best goes out to the family and friends of the cyclist. hopefully the driver won't be on the roads ever again. i just don't understand how accidents like this can happen.
Ride05 Scott Speedster S1 Commute06 Fuji Track Pro Rain/Lock-up 09 Mercier Kilo TT
Some people are defective and need to be returned to the manufacturer. That lack of humanity should disqualify that lowlife from enjoying any rights, including life. Recycle him back to God, I say.
Very sad for the cyclist and his family. Hopefully the law will prove to be responsible on this situation. If anyone finds a link to the story, could you please post it?
Very sad for the cyclist and his family. Hopefully the law will prove to be responsible on this situation. If anyone finds a link to the story, could you please post it?
Horrific. There doesn't seem to be any way to reduce the risk of getting hit from behind. Anywhere, anytime. Just a horrible tragedy all around.
I know it's been argued at length here, but I do find a mirror of some sort helps. I usually only ride on less traveled roads and when I hear a vehicle coming up, I take a look and make sure if they are moving over. I've had a situation where I was sure I would have been nailed if I wouldn't have jump off the road. Luckily I had a place to jump off.
That's unfortunate. Every time I read one of these I think about close encounters I have had and thank my lucky stars. It's dangerous out there.
The most unfortunate part is that the cops arrived first. It would have been better for society if Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson has made a brief house-call before our useless "slap-them-on-the-wrist-and-let- them-go" courts had a chance to screw it all up.
Cycling - It isn't about the bike, its about the ride.
Bad news, sucks to hear, but probably much worse for you to see. Gah.
These days, you can pretty much count on the driver leaving the scene of an accident with a bike. I haven't heard of a driver stopping unless their car isn't drivable any more (like a recent tandem hit in San Antonio).
Terrible news. A sobering reminder that no matter how cautious we are, nothing can protect us absolutely.
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my god. this is terrible to hear. my best goes out to the family and friends of the cyclist. hopefully the driver won't be on the roads ever again.
Plus one on both accounts.
Originally Posted by sibaudio
i just don't understand how accidents like this can happen.
Dollars to donuts he was drinking or on drugs.
If you're doing nothing illegal and have a traffic accident, your likely punsihment is low to non existent. If you flee from the seen of a fatality, you've now exposed yourself to felony charges and become a much bigger priority to arrest and prosecute.
Hence, its extremely irrational to flee the scene, unless you're engaged inc riminal activity already,.
+1, that pretty much sums it up. Thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the cyclist.
I use a mirror, use an obnoxiously bright strobe (even during the day), and wear high-vis stuff just to try to improve my odds, but I'm afraid stuff like this is a numbers game more than anything. Wrong place at the wrong time for the cyclist involved. Very, very sad.
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Originally Posted by rollin
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