NOTE: This event has been rescheduled to Friday, November 22 at 6 pm at the Rapha HQ (1915 NW Kearney St)
NAHBS 2011 in Austin.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Christopher Igleheart, a veteran frame builder who moved from Wenham, Massachusetts to Portland in 2012, was involved in a collision with a motor vehicle on Tuesday afternoon. Igleheart remains in the hospital with a serious knee injury while he awaits word on whether or not it will require surgery.
According to Igleheart’s friend and shop-mate Joseph Ahearne, the collision occurred on NE Wheeler Avenue adjacent to the Moda Center (formerly Rose Garden Arena). Igleheart was apparently riding southbound on Wheeler when someone driving a car turned right into a parking lot driveway and clipped his rear wheel. Igleheart sustained scrapes and bruises on his hands and his head in addition to his knee injury.
Igleheart opted to not have a medical response come to the scene and he didn’t get information from the other party. He rode himself back to his shop a few blocks away and was taken to the emergency room by Ahearne (aboard the front rack of one of this cycle-trucks of course). Ahearne said Igleheart nearly passed out from the pain but is now recovering well.
Unfortunately, Igleheart is self-employed and doesn’t have health insurance. Because his medical bills are likely to be several thousands of dollars, friends are planning a benefit fundraiser event next week. Nathan Roll, owner of Metropolis Cycle Repair (which is located next door to Igleheart’s shop), says he’ll host the event at the shop next Friday (November 8th) at 6:00 pm. He’s looking for raffle prizes and donations of beer and food to make it happen. If you have something to contribute, please email info [at] metropoliscycles [dot] com.
We’re hoping for a full and speedy recovery. Hang in there Chris!
UPDATE, 8:01 pm: We heard back from Chris. He said he’s out of the hospital and will take a week of bed rest to recover. He plans to undergo surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee. As for his decisions immediately after the collision, Chris wrote us via text message that, “I’m probably a bad example for what to do after being hit as I didn’t get the driver’s info because I was in shock.” Chris described the collision as a classic right hook. “[The driver] was trying to turn ahead of a cyclist behind me and didn’t see me.”
“I have been pedaling my whole life,” he continued, “and avoided my share of these, just not this one.”
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So we’re supposed to cover this because he didn’t have the presence of mind to get the responsible motorist’s pertinent info?
You’re not “supposed” to do anything except show some human decency, but apparently that’s too much to ask.
Having been hit by a car and badly injured I wonder if maybe the reason he didn’t get the information burr was that he was in shock. I was very concerned about being late to school even though I had 7 broken bones and was trying hard to bleed out. Everyone should always get information when involved in a collision because you may be more hurt than you realize. It would be nice to think that if the person who was driving the car has insurance and they see this that they might come forward so that his bills would be covered.
Agreed. I rode on to my destination after the two serious spills I’ve had (both my fault) because I was too shocky/adrenalized to realize how much damage I had done to myself. When I read that he continued on after being knocked down, my first thought was “yup, been there, done that” not “what an idiot.” Heal quickly, Chris.
More than once I’ve ridden off when injured – enough times to have learned to slow myself down and think before I ride after even minor crashes. It is hard. Even without being in shock, something kicks in and I don’t want to admit I’m hurt or ask for help, or anything.
It is important to pre-plan for accidents and mentally prepare myself to take time, ask for help, not say “I’m all right” and check myself and my bike out before I just jump on and ride. It is working. I took a spill (nothing serious) taking a left turn onto a path a few weeks ago and in avoiding the stupid bollards (which are dark colored with no reflectors) I caught the curb cutting to short but the good news is that I had the sense to check out my scrapes and check out my bike and actually talk to the person who witnessed the spill.
A friend of mine always carries one of those tiny audio recorders when he rides. Useful to record conversation with other party, as well as convenient way to instantly record vital information (plate, description of car and driver, etc.)
Getting hit causes people to have “fight or flight” reaction due to the craziness of the incident. Christopher obviously had the flight reaction.
You have obviously not been hit. You are obviously a moron.
For once, we agree!
Sometimes after accidents you’re amped up with pain and adrenaline. Decisions are often made hastily in these situations and it’s too easy for us, from a removed perspective, to say what should have happened with the aid of hindsight. After the incident he may have thought the injury to be minor and not requiring medical attention. That’s been my experience. It’s why I advise people to always get insurance information but it’s also why I understand when people fail to. Compassion is needed here, not condescension.
Please refer to the building as The Rose Garden. I was wearing a Igleheart t-shirt last night… mmm. BURR, wow… I certainly will not hold anyone up to your standards. I will hope for a solid and speedy recovery though.
If Jonathan refers to the Building as “The Rose Garden” he risks getting “The Lawsuit”. I know all you small town people are super bummed that the naming rights on the arena were sold, but I for one am looking forward to the front office having some cash on hand they don’t have to spend on the arena. There are plenty of rose gardens in this city, I want championships.
Christopher, I hope you have a speedy recovery.
I’m curious if this occurred at the intersection of Wheeler Ave & Center Ct drive. I regularly have close calls here, the intersection geometry is really awful and cars take the turn at speed usually without glancing in their mirrors.
Unfortunately the city has done nothing to prevent right hooks here, despite having an official ‘N Vancouver Avenue/NE Wheeler Avenue’ project last year with an opportunity to correct this safety issue. I have called and requested action, but PBOT doesn’t seem to be interested.
sometimes you can’t always get the details when something like this happens while riding, Ive almost been killed many times do I get every lic plate? come on… get well dude! bounce back and get on the bike soon.
Chris builds beautiful bikes and parts and does repairs as well. A fundraiser to help him over the medical hump sounds good but what might really help – and lend some extra motivation for a fast recovery – would be some custom frame orders. Everybody wins.
Another excellent reason that I can use to convince Mrs Dibbly that we need bike cams. After a crash, it’s really tough to gather the peace of mind to get data (and short term memory gets wiped out, too).
Chris: best wishes for a speedy recovery!
If he has auto insurance this should be covered under personal injusry protection.
Stories like these are why ridership in Portland is stagnant. : (
Depending on the hospital he’s at, it sounds like he would be a good candidate for a financial assistance application. As a low-income earner myself, I’ve dealt with the associated bureaucracy and as they go, hospitals aren’t generally that bad. Best of luck to the man in his recovery, surgery is definitely not at the top of my to-do list.
I’m guessing he went to Legacy Emmanuel, just because it’s closest. And yes, they do financial assistance since they are a “charity” hospital. (And I know this from my own experience.)
Unfortunately the Cover Oregon website is still not fully functional. But starting January 1st, Chris and other self-employed people will be able to get affordable insurance thru Oregon’s health insurance exchange.
Sign up for healthcare, people!
http://www.coveroregon.com/
I just went into Metropolis and they said that the actual benefit show will happen at a later date and at a different (and bigger) venue. Jonathan, you might want to check with them and update the story.
Even though the benefit has been pushed back, we will still be having a get together here at Metropolis Cycles in honor of our fifth anniversary. If you would like to make a donation to help with Chris’s expenses, we would be happy to pass it on.