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An SUV traveling on the wrong side of Lyndale Avenue South smashed into a 17-year old cyclist around 7:40 p.m. on Monday evening. The cyclist told police he was turning south onto Lyndale Avenue from Minnehaha Parkway’s eastbound side when the truck hit him, sending him flying over the vehicle’s hood and off its back.
The report filed by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department didn't say if the teen had been using bicycle lights, although the collision occured close to or at sundown.
The victim suffered only minor scrapes, went home to call the police, and refused medical attention when police responded, although the report did not comment on the state of the 17-year old’s bicycle. The SUV involved, described by the victim as recent-model and black or dark blue, sped away from the scene without checking on the victim.
Jana Velo
9:25 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Thank you for posting this article. People don't hear as much about car/bike crashes, so statistics are not accurate. Kudos to the cyclist for calling the police and filing a report. I'm relieved that the cyclist seems to be doing ok.
James Sanna
9:27 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
For anyone interested, Bill Lindeke at Streets.MN has a new op-ed somewhat related to this: http://www.streets.mn/2012/09/11/is-forgiveness-just-for-auto-drivers/
His basic argument is that streets should be designed under the assumption that people will be riding in sub-optimal ways (talking on the phone while driving, biking the wrong way, etc)
R P
11:22 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
It's frustrating that the article chose to include that there was no mention of whether or not the bicyclist had their lights on. As usual (and James' link also mentions), articles almost always imply that the bicyclist was somehow at fault, even though in this case, the SUV was DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD.
James Sanna
11:32 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Pointing out that certain facts about a case are unknown is not implying that the cyclist was at fault. I think you're reading far too much into my line.
P S
1:59 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
James, to be fair, why didn't you include that there was no mention of whether the driver of the SUV was under the influence, texting while driving or had his/her lights on? Those facts are unknown too.
You have to admit there was some bias.
Steve A
7:30 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
How would anybody know if the SUV driver was under the influence, texting, or even an alien from Mars, since the driver reportedly simply sped away without caring if he or she had killed someone enough to simply perform the simple duty of stopping and seeing what was the proper HUMAN act?