[Updated, 4:25pm]
Here’s a sad (but interesting) case you just don’t come across very often.
I had to re-read the title of a press release sent out a few minutes ago by the Captain of the Gresham Police Department. It reads:
“Bicyclist Injured After Hitting Pedestrian”
Apparently, at about 1:30 this afternoon, a 69 year-old man was riding his bike in the bike lane going west on Powell Blvd. when he collided with someone who was walking across the street at SW Walters.
According to the press release, the pedestrian had the “WALK” signal and the cyclist ran into him, then crashed, struck his head on the pavement (he was not wearing a helmet), sustained “serious head injuries” and was transported to OHSU.
Captain David Lerwick says investigators don’t know how fast the man on the bike was traveling at the time of the collision. He’s also asking anyone who might have witnessed the collision to call the Gresham Police Department at (503) 618-2341.
With more folks biking and walking these days, do you think non-motorized collisions will become more common? It brings to mind this story I published back in June: Realities of bike traffic: The bike-on-bike collision.
UPDATE:
I just got off the phone with Captain Lerwick. He says the pedestrian was uninjured (except for a bike tire mark on his leg). He also added that the man on the bike was 69 years old (which I’ve added to the story above).
Most interestingly however, is the type of intersection and why the collision actually occurred (I think it is a great lesson for all of us).
Lerwick says this was a “T” intersection, meaning the man on the bike ran the red light because he assumed — since there was no cross motor-vehicle traffic — that he didn’t need to stop. There was also a telephone pole between the man on the bike and the pedestrian.
I have often thought about how bikes treat “T” intersections. Traffic lights and signs are more commonly ignored in this situation (like when that guy flipped me off) because there a sense that you’re not crossing any car traffic, so why wait? I think this collision offers a good reminder that folks should take caution and compliance at T-intersections.