The Oregonian is reporting this morning that a woman has filed a $49,000 lawsuit to recover damages caused when she had to make a panic stop while driving on I-5 in order to avoid a bicycle that had fallen off someone’s rack.
Here’s more from The O:
“A bicycle that tumbled off a rack and onto Interstate 5 at freeway speeds caused Dawn Martin to suddenly slam on her brakes in March 2012.
She was able to avoid a crash. Unfortunately, however, the driver behind her wasn’t. He slammed into her 1992 Nissan pickup, causing her to suffer a long list of whiplash-type injuries…
She took that legal route, her attorney says, after two years of wrangling with insurance companies and is seeking $49,000 in damages.
Martin is suing not only the driver who struck her for allegedly tailgating, but the driver whose car was carrying the bicycle for allegedly failing to secure his load.”
We published a story about this incident when it happened just over two years ago. At that time, the driver of the car that was carrying the bike, Todd Foreman-Kinder, was unaware that his bike had caused any collision. He told us that by the time he could exit the freeway and survey the scene, all he saw was a skidmark. The bike (which belonged to his girlfriend) was nowhere to be seen and he reported it as stolen.
This case should serve as a reminder to always double-check your straps and rack fittings to make sure your bike is secure.
Read more about the lawsuit at OregonLive.com.