Cyclist crash on Hawthorne bridge this afternoon.

[tonyt]

Does anyone have any info? There was an ambulance there, a guy was being attended to, lying on his back on the sidewalk and his bike looked pretty tweaked.

A comment to the guy who I chatted with after we went around it all and continued on; remember, you know a lot less than you do know.

You do NOT know that the guy wasn't wearing a helmet. Spare the snap judgements for some other time.

There WAS a helmet lying on the sidewalk next to him, and no it wasn't a "fireman's helmet." There were no firemen there and I know a bike helmet when I see it.

Maybe it wasn't his helmet, and maybe he wasn't wearing one. But at that point, you and I knew ZERO about the situation.

And there was some other comment that I didn't quite catch about people not knowing how to ride or something like that.

And really, that's the first thing that comes out of your mouth? Not "hope the guy's okay?" Or even, "I wonder what happened."

Anyway. I hope the guy was okay.

[bubbaPDX]

I dismounted and walked my bike past, and saw what you saw. The guy was sitting upright, and had some serious road rash on his face. Couldn't deduce what happened or the helmet situation; however, his head clearly hit the ground (by way of his face).

First feeling was sympathy for our downed comrade, followed by annoyance for the requisite few cyclists who just had to haul ass around the accident scene.

[K'Tesh]

To the person who got hurt... I think I can say for us all,

Our prayers for a speedy recovery!

Get Well!
K'Tesh

[tonyt]

but there are many out here who might say our THOUGHTS are with him. Prayers? Not my gig.

[flying_dutchman]

Originally Posted by tonyt

but there are many out here who might say our THOUGHTS are with him. Prayers? Not my gig.

I too am godless, however...
This is not the venue for a discussion on the validity of prayer. Anything and everything that can be brought into play to heal our wounded comrade and to protect us all from similar fates is welcome.

[bubbaPDX]

A shout-out to Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles. Be they injuries, storm drains, Canadian geese, or pedestrians.

[tonyt]

You're right flying dutchman. This thread that I started is not the place for a religious debate (which I did not attempt to engage in). But when someone says they speak for me and they don't, I believe I should be entitled to say something quietly and politely.

That's all.

Back on topic. As it turns out, the person lying on the sidewalk was a woman and the totally innocent person in all of this.

Reading the front page account of how it went down makes my stomach turn. I can only imagine what it was like to witness it.

Man. I will be riding more slowly on the Hawthorne Bridge from now on. Yikes.

[bubbaPDX]

Originally Posted by tonyt

Reading the front page account of how it went down makes my stomach turn. I can only imagine what it was like to witness it.

Do you have a link? Thx!

[wsbob]

Originally Posted by bubbaPDX

Do you have a link? Thx!

It's currently right on bikeportland's front page, but here's the link anyway:

rush hour crash on hawthorne bridge raises big questions

I haven't ridden the Hawthorne Br during rush hour, but I've seen pictures and read plenty of comments about it. It should be no surprise at all that something like this has happened.

Reading the story, you'll learn right away that the injured person was not a guy, but a young woman. She landed on her face and got serious road rash due to a guy on a bike jockeying his way around other people on the bridge MUP. Fortunately, for whatever reason, it seems that he stayed on scene. Road rash anyplace on the body is nasty, but on the face is especially miserable. Miss....so sorry... .

In the comments, people are covering the bases relative to bike commuter overcrowding on this route, talking about everything from temperament to etiquette, to short term bike exclusive main lane usage to improvements on the Morrison Bridge and so forth.

That's good, because incidents like this should make it clear to city leaders that the city has kind of an emergency situation on its hands. Definitely, more people seem to be taking to the bike for commuting. Going into summer, numbers will likely increase. The politician that can come up with an excellent, quick short term solution to the problem that brought about this woman's injuries will be greatly appreciated.

I just hope their vision is adequate to the task at hand. Situations like this always make me think of news footage I've seen in past of the bike commute in Chinese cities...I wonder if our leaders have ever contemplated a situation (our critical mass excepted) approaching that one in this country on some scale.

[bubbaPDX]

Originally Posted by wsbob

It's currently right on bikeportland's front page, but here's the link anyway:

rush hour crash on hawthorne bridge raises big questions

Newbie question, admittedly. Thanks for the assist. I was looking elsewhere, and it spotlights the lack of coverage in other media outlets. Even the ambulance-chasing FOX 12. But I gather that's not unusual.