my first serious wreck
 

So my weekend plans changed slightly on Thursday...

riding home from class on my bicycle.. probably going 25-30mph, but I can't remember, this car pulls out in front of me. of course I don't really remember any of this because I was knocked unconcious but I remember starting to get my wits about me when I was having X-rays (had two have two chest xrays because my lungs "were so big" according to the technician) and a cat scan done.

Some 54 year old woman pulls out in front of me because she didn't see me, sort of a blind spot where she was, she was expecting cars, but I was wearing bright yellow clothing. anyway... cop said I ended up 40 feet away from the impact spot.

luckily I don't have any broken bones or anything (I do have a chipped tooth though). face is pretty raw from road rash, and my shoulder, and both knees.

the cop said there were about 50 people standing around with cell phones calling 911 (they flooded the dispatch center) and that the campus emergency phone was list up.

my roommate said that she talked to one of her friends that drove by and saw my bike and juding from my bike thought the person on it was dead.

yeah so now I have a bike that's in two pieces, the top tube and down tube broke in to. I figured that it would have broken at the welds... no they're broken about 1/4 of the way down the tubes. looks like a soda can that was just ripped apart. I'll hopefully get some pics up here soon for anyone that wants to see the damage, maybe I'll be able to get a few pics of my face too, which surprisling doesn't look so bad

they wanted to keep me for observation at the hospital overnight

she had insurance and the cop said that it was her fault.. "failure to yield" so hopefully i can get all my hospital bills and bike paid for without having to sue

luckily I'm alive, probably thanks to a helmet... kinda feel like I got hit by a car or something though so I'm gonna go take it easy

Holy S**t Rit! Glad to hear you're OK. Hey, I used to live in Ooltewah (N.E. of Chattanooga), not too far from where you are at (and home of Litespeed!), and I have a cousin in Asheville. Very pretty up there!

--gordon

Glad you are alive. Take it easy for a while. Before you start to do any riding or working out be especially careful to stretch well. If anything has a restricted range of motion after a week, ask about PT. Very glad you are still with us.

Glad you're ok. Let's hope this is your only serious wreck. Don't forget to replace your helmet if it's damaged.

Ritalin,
Yes you will be compensated by her insurance company. DO NOT sign anything or accept any checks from them right away!!! You need to collect all your bills and get your shop to value your bike for replacement. Keep their written offer but tell them you need to process all your costs before giving them a total number.
If you have a family lawyer, it would be wise to get them to advise.
It is straightforward so getting a lawyer otherwise sounds unnecessary at this point unless the insurance company refuses to pay out.

You also need to wait and get a follow up physical exam to make sure there are no lingering problems--make sure it is written into a doctors file on you when you go to get checked out (not emergency room but your own doctor). All this legally will be paid by her insurance (I'm not sure of specific laws in Tennessee).

Anyway, the big deal is that you are ok and the bike is replaceable and nothing really to get upset about. Glad a bad accident wasn't worse and you are very lucky she had insurance- that will make your life alot easier.

Thank God you're OK, Ritalin. What a frightening experience. I'll bet you're sore right now. Yikes! I'm staying on the bike path today. Great advice from RacerX, be sure to follow it. Again, I'm glad you're OK.

Wow, that's a heck of a crash story. I'm REALLY glad that your outcome looks good regarding your long-term health. By the description of the crash, you certainly could have ended up dead, or worse - injured to the point where riding would never be an option ... or even worse.

Anywho, consider the fact that someone is looking out for you! I hope that everything works out for the best. :)

BTW, the old, standard "I didn't see him" excuse is total bull. In order to @ least create some negative reinforcement with this lady, she should incur some sort of pain. Perhaps it's cash out of her pocket, or something else. However, for the sake of all the rest of us cyclists, she needs to pay something.

Erf! That sounds like a really nasty crash. I'm glad you're okay though. A friend of mine crashed in a race when the rider in front of him went down. He said he lost part of his memory because all he could remember was one minute grabbing for the brakes and then the next minute sitting on the ground with a bunch of people around him. He was also surprised to discover the sounds of an ambulance siren and later confessed to me that at the time thought to himself, "wow... there sure are a lot of paramedics coming my way, someone here must be hurt pretty bad..." before blacking out again. He didn't realise at the time that the ambulance was for him. He recovered fully except for the memory of the actual crash. Anyways, good luck and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

It's an ACCIDENT. The driver most likely didn't do it on purpose. Accidents happen and the woman isn't bad or should be "punished" for being in one or causing one. We could be in the very same situation as this woman someday. This is a happy story because no one was seriously hurt.

What someone does after the fact should determine how evil someone is.

Glad it wasn't worse.
Hey, you're gonna get a new bike though!

OMG Glad you are alright! I agree with the others, don't sign or take anything till you have all your bills together. Take your bike down to your LBS and get a estimate on the repair, then go from their. You are alright which is the main thing. A short while ago I almost got in a crash like that, I was going down the road, truck cut me off I hit my brakes really hard I was only doing about 20, and I normaly only use my front break so when I did that I did not have my weight balanced right and my rear tired started going up a bit and I lost my balance, just got minor scratches.. I thank god I did not hit that truck.

Damn! :eek:

Sorry about that... I had an accident in college when I was on my bike. I was a sitting duck at an intersection, and a pickup truck that was turning hit me straight on. I just remember waking up on the ground and they had to force me to stay on the ground because I was on my way to register for class. Funny thing- reading your story, I realize I never retrieved my bike after the accident! I have no idea what happened to it. I was banged up for a while, and I had some short term memory loss, but I was ok. I'm sure with some rest and light rehab, you'll be back on your feet in no time!

For sure, if you get a check in the mail, do make sure you see an attorney (courtesy of the driver who hit you, of course) and make sure all your expenses are covered. You never know how long you'll be doing rehab, or if you'll end up with some nagging lower back pain that just won't go away, blunt force trauma, anurysms, etc. etc... When I worked in a law firm, they used to tell clients not to cash a check, because that would signal to the defendant that the case was settled. Don't sign anything either- shuttle it over to an attorney and let them look through the paperwork. I know some people find going to attorneys distasteful, but I really do think if an insurance company feels like they can rip you, they will. There is also an issue of time off work, pain and suffering, etc. All these things must be paid for- I bet when she finishes paying for that, the mythical blind spot she claims she had will magically disappear. And hopefully, people will learn from this story, and they will be more likely to look for a cyclist before changing lanes.

Good luck with your recovery and keep us informed on what's going on with you.

Koffee

Holy cow, sounds terrible. But to be fair to the driver, it just sounds like one of those accidents. We all know, if we drive cars, that sometimes things and people just come out of your blind spot and no matter how careful or vigilant you are, it just happens. Lucky you weren't hurt worse, but that sucks about the bike.

Your friend thinking the rider was dead reminds me of a photo I saw, of Laurent Jalabert's bike after he had that horrible crash in the Tour in 1994. The front of the bike is basically just broken and folded over, the bike is in two pieces. He just went right over and landed on his face. As we all know he didn't die but if you'd looked at his bike, you'd for sure thought he was dead!

Rest up and take care of your injuries! YOu may want to go for physio because you'll have a lot of aches and pains coming out of you. I was nailed by a car last fall and got off with a broken bone in my hand, but it was landing on my back that caused the most problems. It hurt for weeks after.

ok... here is what happened to the bike


http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/bike1.jpg
http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/bike2.jpg
http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/bike3.jpg


Car: 1 Bike: 0

thanks for all the thoughts guys... some good advice! I didn't even think of pain and suffering but... already my shoulder is very very sore and it wasn't a few days ago. i'm glad I didn't sign anything! i'm worried how i'm going to feel in a few months, years, decades

i really don't look too bad if you consider what happened and compair me to the bike...

See an attorney....

Koffee

Holy Crap! What on the bike is still good, the wheels look surprisingly round and true. Get better quick.

-Middi-zon

http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/face1.jpg
http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/face2.jpg
http://students.etsu.edu/zjdw25/face3.jpg

Atleast you're face does not look to bad..expecialy after looking at your bike now. I'm surprised the wheels look so good. Bike looks like it took a brunt of the force. I don't think any TLC will fix that frame.

Bugger me ! How to be unlucky & lucky at the same time ! We are going to have to ask Joe to open a new section for crashes soon the way were going lately:mad:
Glad to see you faired better than the bike .By what you were saying it sounds like your helmet saved you from more serious injury ???
I take it the Lightspeed is/was an ally. frame not a Ti ????
Hope you heal soon , keep positive ;) . as someone else said "at least you get a new bike out of it" . Dont be to hard on the driver , I expect she feels bad about it too, she`ll be someone elses Mum, she didnt hit you on purpose (I hope). The cost of a new Lightspeed should give her nightmares for a while :D :D
best wishes g/wolf:beer:

Godspeed your recovery, Ritalin.

Thank God you're OK. Good luck getting a new bike and back on the road.

Zack

Ouch, looks nasty, the bike and your face! I agree, the driver probably feels pretty bad about,sounds like it was just one of those accidents. Did you at least get nifty painkillers at the hospital? I remember getting some, big pink pills, sort of like Darvocet.

A real bummer about the bike- nice bike too. ANd i also noticed the wheels still look remarkably good. You can probably salvage some components. Good welds, you have to admit!

Put some vitamin E oil on your face to help it heal better.

Yes, Ritalin, count me into the crowd that is really glad you came out well.

You really look pretty good, considering.

Watch out for people that aren't watching!

:thumbup:

Get well quickly

Yeah, aluminum litespeed. I was surprised the tube broke instead of the welds


and the lady... 54 years old, was really shaken up by the whole thing, the cop said that he thought he was going to have to take her to the hospital too because she was hysterical

I don't want to take her for a ride but at the same time I think I'm entitled to a little bit for pain and suffering, the question is how much? how do you determine this? I'm just concerned about signing something and then the next week some pain shows up that wasn't there before, guess that's why you try and wait as long as possible before signing anything

I got an estimate today for all my bike equipment that needs to be replaced... $2100 after tax, missed a little bit of work, ambulance ride, hospital visit, then i have to go to the dentist next week sometime (probably end up with a crown)

it's all going to add up!

thanks for all the concern guys, someone must have been watching over me because it could have definately been worse