Last night I had one of those comments that reminds me why I’ve devoted so much of my life to this site.
It came from “Nick’s mom”. Nick is Nick Moreno, a 17-year-old boy who died in the ICU on October 29th, one day after he was struck by a car while trying to cross McLoughlin Blvd. on his bike (read more about Nick in this Oregonian story).
Read her comment below:
A week before this Nick came home with injuries from head to toe because he had been run off the road by a car. Nick ended up being thrown off his bike. The driver didn’t even stop. Nick ended up in the ER because we thought he had a broken ankle. Nick’s friends told me being run off the road by vehicles happens all the time to them.
According to Nick’s friends, Nick was a very cautious rider, always aware of his surroundings. A half hour later after Nick got hit, we drove by the intersection coming from River Rd. One thing that stood out in my mind was how “lit up” the intersection was. It was a clear night that night, no rain, no fog. Also, Nick didn’t see the lights on the car? Did the car have their headlights on?
I find it odd that between “two” men in a vehicle, neither of them saw Nick. They said they didn’t know what they hit. Interestingly enough….A Gladstone police officer had seen Nick seconds before and was turning around in Burgerville parking lot to stop and talk to Nick.
Nick’s friends are questioning the speed of Teters (the guy who hit Nick) because of the damage to Nick’s bike. They believe the guy had to have been going faster than 43 mph. Nick’s bike was not made out of the normal steel used in most bikes. The steel was a much stronger, reinforced specialized steel(maybe someone else that knew Nick and his bike can elaborate on this).
When I was at OHSU looking at my son lay there in ICU with a massive brain injury, I spoke with two doctors that told me that they see these types of critical bike/vehicle incidents “all the time”. I thought they meant every few months…they said, “NO….ALL THE TIME.” This is just pathetic.
Oregon drivers need a serious wake-up call and I plan on giving it to them. I am not one to take vengeance, but I am not going to just allow my son to be killed, then be told that it is happening all the time to other bike riders, and just roll over like it’s all okay in the name of an “accident”. The stakes have to be raised.
Drivers need to stop being distracted and start paying attention to their surroundings if they would like the privilege of having a drivers license.
It’s really sad that fatal situations like this are usually what trigger laws to be changed. I’d like to see drivers licenses taken away and/or suspended for a good long time. If you drive like an airhead….you need your license taken away.
Let some of these people be forced to become bike riders and have to put up with the inconsiderate, selfish BS from drivers. Maybe that would be an eye opener.
— Learn more about Nick from the Oregonian: Crash victim was avid biker