| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out). "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Saturday, July 16, 2005
A year ago, a friend of mine was involved in a auto/bicycle accident. This is her story in her words... Well, the trial is now over for the guy who hit me last July. The verdict was guilty of a felony assault 2, so he was given the Measure 11 sentence of 5 yrs/10 months in jail. It was hard to sit and listen to the whole story, but I learned a lot about what actually happened that evening and it certainly filled in a few blank spots. Basically, this guy was loaded on meth and had been driving fast and passing cars since Hawthorne/Center. After he got stopped by a light at 24th and Center, he continued east on Center, picking up speed, and as traffic began to slow for the 17th Street intersection, he began passing cars on the right, in the bike lane. He continued to increase his speed and by the time he was passing 20th Street, was driving in the bike lane with one side of the car’s wheels actually up on the curb since the lane was too small to fit a vehicle. By the time he was coming up to 18th Street, he was traveling approximately 45 mph or more. That is about when he came up behind me. According to witnesses and the accident reconstruction, to avoid hitting me, he swerved at the last second back into the lane of traffic, the side of his car just behind the passenger door striking my left handlebar. From what I can figure out from the bike, my injuries and the tan paint on both of my bike tires, is that this threw me into the side of the car where the tires rubbed the side, I hit my left side and head on the car and the bike, since it was leaning inwards, did not sustain any damage to the frame itself, just the headset from the impact. With the injuries that I received from a sideswipe, can you imagine what would have happened if he had hit me directly from behind at that rate of speed? I’m sure I wouldn’t even be here today. The reconstruction showed that he then hit the blue Honda in the rear side panel, swerved back across the road and then sheared off the power pole, crossed the sidewalk and lawn, hitting the tree and then the parked car on 18th Street, where the police had to cut him out of the car. The medical testimony showed that I had a level 12 brain pattern when I arrived at the emergency room. The scale is 3 -– 15 (15 is normal and a dead person gets a 3, don’t ask me why). During the 3 hours that I was in the emergency room, I had advanced to a level 14, but was still not aware of my surroundings. That finally occurred when I woke up in the cat scan machine. The next day, I still had not returned to “normal", so was kept an additional day for observation. The medical testimony also stated that the wrist that I now have will never return to what it was and will most likely need future medical intervention. Because of the recklessness of the driver’s behavior and the extent of the injuries I received (severe and long term), the defendant was given the full Measure 11 sentence. Too bad that no one really “won” in this case, neither the driver, me or society, but for bicyclists, this was a victory and helps set a precedent for future cases. That'’s the good we can hope to get from this whole mess… Stay safe and watch out for the kooks on the road, Grace
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