SeanBonham

This happened earlier in the year:

It’s been just over three weeks since George “Chips” Cronen, a father, grandfather, husband and general force of good in his community, left work on a sunny Tuesday afternoon and pedaled across the Second Street Bridge for his Highlands home. As was his custom when the weather was nice, Chips was riding his bicycle from work at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Clarksville, where he had been a pastoral associate for five years.
Like always, the experienced cyclist and active 57-year-old was wearing his helmet. He rarely, if ever, rode without an orange reflective vest, like you’d see on a construction site. He had just bought a mirror to help with awareness. He kept to the right side of the right southbound lane, the way Kentucky law says you’re supposed to.


Behind Chips was an older blue Ford Econoline, its driver bearing on the cyclist without realizing it. As we understand subconsciously, human beings confronted with such a grim guarantee, it only takes once. The police report said the van was going between 30 and 35 miles an hour. Chips hit the van and then a steel girder; he died on the bridge, bicycle a pretzel of scrap metal. With no warning or premonition, it ripped from those close to him the idyll of pleasant, sunny Tuesday afternoons, probably forever.

The whole article

I did not know this man, but have relatives and friends that were close to him. There was a large memorial ride in his honor, there were bracelets made (similar to the lance deals) with his name on them. Most importantly the city actually did something (or appeared to) about the dangerous condition for cyclist here. On the bridge they put up very large, bright yellow "yield to cyclist" and "watch for cyclist" signs. There was tons of press on this, news footage, weekly coverage, blogs etc.

Here is where I come into the story:

Two nights ago a group of about 30 riders, myself included, were returning from our weekly night ride. We were in the right lane that is designated for riders. 95% of us had lights (I have two lights and my bag is reflective). My friend Nick and I are at the back of the group riding along as normal in correct formation. We are both fixed gear geeks and were chatting about something bike related. We both hear screeching tires and then it happened, we both get hit from behind. We go down and I am just waiting to feel my body break, but as I get my senses back I realize I am alright, bleeding some, but alright. As I try to untangle myself from my bike (I was flipped around with one foot still clipped in) I see Nick get up and run over to the car with some serious quickness. My next impression is that I am going to have to pull Nick off this guy because he is going to beat the hell out of the driver, but no, Nick is telling the guy to quit trying to drive off. When the 30 riders get around the car the driver listens.

Now the real kicker:
We were on the second street bridge, 200 feet from the where Chips was killed! Nick had the memorial bracelet on.

Jesus! One would think that in a place with huge signs making drivers aware of bikes, 30+ riders with blinkies, and no other cars in the lane we would be safe. Neither one of us were hurt too bad. My hand is cut up the worst, I am a drummer and an IT guy and that is the last place I needed an injury. We both have some road rash and I could use a trip to the massage therapist. We had 2 ambulances, a fire engine, some witnesses and a few cop cars. Police report was filed etc. The cop was super nice. Working on insurance stuff on Tuesday...

Our bike's were thrashed pretty good. Nicks back wheel is destroyed and mine is pretty bad. Too all you Deep V naysayers, they hold their own when getting smashed into by a car. Lots of scratches, bends, and dents etc. I am not the suing type, but you better believe my bike, missed day of work, pants, shoes, and body will be restored 100%.

We are going to push this as much as we can with the press and the city. I am sending e-mails and making calls this week. How many people have to be hit in order to made a difference? We are SO LUCKY to be alive and not seriously hurt. When we were leaving, carrying our bike to the end of the bridge we come across a bunch of flowers that were put there for Chips, talk about a strange feeling...

Sorry if this seems like a rant, but I figure you guys could relate, have some input/suggestions on things I can do to make a difference here.

The roads are not always safe, so please ride carefully!
I will keep you guys posted...

P.S.
Please ignore my grammatical errors, I was an information systems major.
Thanks for listening

oakdale

making a claim to his insurance company for the damage to your bikes sounds like a really good idea, whether suing type or not. why should you have to pay for someone else's mistake?

SeanBonham

oh yeah man they better pay for it all

Boss Moniker

Glad you're okay man... despite adequate lighting, signage, and safety precautions, some areas are still dangerous, and some drivers are still inattentive.

Hope you get back to riding soon!

bonechilling

So the the Fiesta was totaled, right?

Gordiep

Glad to hear that yer okay.

mander

"Election" is the best film homage to the Ford Fiesta out there.

Edit: oops drtfop. Glad that you're both ok man, that could have gone really badly.

Sixty Fiver

The best thing to hear is that you are okay... our city has witnessed the deaths of two cyclist in the past week and both were hit by cars.

I have had too many close calls this year and have been hit once (caught a mirror from the reaar) and broad sided a car that pulled out in front of me... the last crash damaged my fork (which needed replacement) but in each case I was able to ride away.

In each case I think I was pretty visible to the drivers.

sloaccord

thats nice that you're not the litigating type, but still. . .
i think if the person just made a mistake and pulls over and ensures you're okay, etc; then sure, dont sue.

if it takes 30 cyclists encircling his car to keep him at the scene because he is trying to speed away and leave your dead ass on the ground, then EFFIN SUE HIM BLIND

Mr Pantani

Good story, and very glad you're okay. Best wishes.

streetlightpoet

Glad to here you're doing alright. Been hit 4 times since moving down here, there are definitely drivers out there that seem to pay no attention to anything beyond there dashboard.

LoRoK

I got bottled tonight AND mirrored. The bottle didn't actually hit me, but it was right under my bb where it broke. When I got mirrored (I was only minorly clipped, didn't knock me down) it was a hoopty full of cholos yelling at me. I am certain they did it on purpose. The best part of that is that it scared the **** out of me and I jerked to the right and caught the crack between the asphault (road) and concrete (curb) and went down. Got lumps on both my left shin and right thigh. Was wearing gloves, so my hands are ok. Bike is fine. Really made me want to cry. Why do people have to be like this?

Gordiep

That really sucks...a friend of mine's from just outside of Alb. (the Bosque Farms area), and he had lots of similar experiences-- exacerbated by his being a spandex-and-carbon roadie. You live in a really bad town for cycling.

roadfix

Glad to hear you and your friend are doing fine.
I didn't realize Ford Fiestas were still running....

cc700

1. be glad it was a fiesta.

2. you didn't mention whether or not you were wearing a helmet... i hope you were.

3. be glad he slammed on the brakes and it wasn't head on. you're never safe.

4. heal up quick and get your reimbursement(what's the word for that?). you don't have to be a 'suing type'. i wish i had done something the day after i got hit.

I'm very glad you're here typing this. crazy how it happened on the same bridge.

SeanBonham

Getting hit by a Fiesta is no party, let me tell you that. hehehe

Thanks for all the responses guys! I really feel lucky and shaken up. Thank god it was not an SUV or truck or something big. I wonder if I will have any fears about get back on the bike and being around cars? You guys that got hit experience anything like that?

When I said I was not the suing type, I did not mean I was not going to be compensated to the up most. I sincerely don't trust the integrity of my frame and back wheel now. I am going to go see a chiropractor this week because I feel like my body is covered in one big bruise (one can only drink so much PBR to make that go away). I am in the process of taking photos of the bike and my wounds.

How has insurance stuff worked out for you guys? The guy did not seem to be the most well-off dude, but he was insured. He mentioned something about settling out of court or whatever, but I am not sure about that. Ok, the guy seemed poor (I mean hell, I'm poor), but if we sue does the insurance take the hit or will they foreclose his home and garnish his wages? I am not a greedy person, don't think I can do that stuff. The dude did try to pull off though...

We will see what the police report and insurance have to say.

Oh wait, did I mention the 4 iPhones I had on me, one in each pocket and they were all destroyed. Guess I will have to add those to the list. haahahhahahahah Just kidding...
But I do see some NJS in my future...

Igneous Faction

After I got hit, it just made me 200x more diligent when I'm riding. I now trust no one on the road driver, cyclist, or pedestrian and just assume that they are all going to try as hard as possible to kill me.

But I like riding my bike, so I ride.

cc700

yeah... i got hit in an intersection where it turned yellow. very next time i went through that interesection it turned yellow on me again. it creeped the hell out of me.

and i go slower through situations i'm uncomfortable in or stay out of them entirely. i got hit head-on but i find myself checking my 6 all the time now.

tinydr

He'll probably be paying a higher price for insurance, but it shouldn't go beyond that. Hopefully his insurance policy covers this sort of thing, seeing he's doesn't sound like the "full-coverage" type what he has is probably highly-dependent on what your state requires.

Hopefully it does, suing him probably won't get you too far if he doesn't have any money. I'd be curious as to what he's offering in terms of settlement, and what his insurance policy covers.

Did you report his attempting to flee the scene to the police?

PS: glad to hear you didn't get hurt too badly.

deathhare

Did they not arrest the SOB?
WTF is going on?!

SeanBonham

Man, to tell you the truth I was so shaken up I was having a hard time not freaking out. What was funny is that his battery died as he was backing up. I was under the impression that he looked to be backing up at an angle trying to split. I am not sure if it was reported or not. We had witnesses in cars and on bikes, but you know the cops interview each person individually and take separate stories. I am hoping it was mentioned. The dude was REALLY scared as he should be. I was still trying to get off the ground when everyone was getting around him and yelling.

Now that you mention it, that dick should have went to jail for reckless driving if anything.
Tuesday should be interesting...

mander

Jesus ****ing Christ! Is that assault with a deadly weapon? It sure sounds like it to me. Whatever you want to call it it's pretty serious stuff, and you might want to consider getting the cops involved.

tinydr

the mirror bit sounds like it...

mander

BTW Sean, you're not "that" Sean Bonham, drummer, are you? Just curious...

cavit8

Glad you're okay amigo. Be well.