May 21, 2008
Another day, another bike crash witnessed
Why do bicyclists wait until I'm around before they try to kill themselves?
OK, the guy I found crumpled on the Roanoke River Greenway last year wasn't trying. He just had the bad luck of hitting a huge pothole. But the bloody mountain biker pictured a month ago on this blog was lucky all he got was bloody when he hit a tree without a helmet.
And the kid I just saw crash in Roanoke got lucky, too.
I was coming back from an assignment in Vinton when this pack of teenaged kids on BMX bikes converged on the intersection of 8th and Wise. That spot is on one of my road bike loops and it's a confusing intersection with a bunch of yield signs. I get nervous riding through there and I pay attention. These kids weren't paying attention.
They were just riding willy nilly in the road, crossing back and forth and not looking. I sometimes see that kind of behavior from pedestrians who seem to be daring drivers to hit them.
The drivers all defered to the kids. But one of the kids didn't see that a pickup truck was stopped and turning into a convenience store. The kid smacked the back of the pickup and crumpled on the side of the road, about 30 feet in front of me. I stopped, put on my flashers and got out.
The kid was crying and rolling around in pain saying, "Oh, my knee. My knee." I said, while dialing 911, "Don't worry, I'm calling help."
And, miraculously, he quickly got better. He staggered back onto his bike and took off after his "friends," who hadn't exactly stuck around to make sure he was OK. I tried to convince him to sit tight -- really all you can do -- but he would have none of it.
I could just see a kid like that going home and telling his mom some guy hit him and
took off. So I stuck around with the driver of the truck to talk to the cops because I wanted to make sure the police knew that it wasn't that driver's fault.
Pretty interesting.
Comments
[May 22, 2008 12:20 AM]
Static LinesGreat save Mark, Yet this is also a ploy to extort money from unsuspecting motorists.
A guy in school did this back in the 70's on weekends to get money from drivers, this is how it works, he would target women drivers mostly leaving parking spots or non-busy intersections.
He would get close to the vehicle and slap it hard with his hand the car stops he falls off his bike screaming bloody murder. The driver would rush from their car not sure what just happen, he starts yelling and crying his father's a lawyer the driver would panic offering money if he be quite.
The money exchanged hands the driver would jump back in their car leaving the area and he would get up and target another car in the mall Parking lot.
Last I heard of Art he was doing 40 years in Brushy Mountain Prison for bank robbery, some habits die hard. Still it's better to be safe than sorry.
Here is a video of a man being attacked by a kid with a skateboard while trying to get information for car damages done by the skateboarder. VERY GRAPHIC!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWYFEtnak2Q
[May 22, 2008 8:58 AM]
Mark TaylorThanks for the insight, Static Lines. Your story doesn't surprise me at all. Sounds like Art got what he had coming.
Maybe this kid was an excellent actor, but I'm pretty sure this was an accident. If not, this kid was really dumb because by the looks of the truck he hit the driver wasn't exactly carrying around a wad of cash.
mt
[May 22, 2008 1:07 PM]
Stactic LinesWhy post a comment and video of that nature? We have read of a father and son throwing rocks over a mans head while fishing, and the video shows what our children may do unsupervised.
Why let them learn life lessons from behind bars when we have the opportunity to protect them in the outdoors to have fun and respect others, we are the parents not the jailers.
Have a safe Memorial day for someone paid the price for our continued freedom and peace.