Another car hitting cyclists - this time, it's me!

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Originally Posted by Trek420

While not a vengeful sue-em all kind of gal but: she destroyed your season, your ride, your health (which you will get back) and almost ... your life! :mad:

I'd want more than the cost of the bike. :mad:

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yep, all true...and am not a sue-em type either...having never been in this position before, so my attorne told me that the property damage gets addressed first...can't do anything about all of the other life, health complications until I am medically stable...and that's not imminent yet (although I believe that she'll get off easy in that area too, as she didn't kill us and we're not broken, unconscious, needing multiple surgeries, etc...), so I'll follow and trust in the process and his expertise to help me recover some of what she cost me...but you're right - I can't put a price tag on all of what her recklessness and negligence cost me...sheesh!

Legal proceedings update: almost 5 months after this speeding-reaching into the back seat to play with her 2 yr old nephew-and, oh yeah,- she knew her brakes were needing repair - driver crashed into me while I was in a signed, painted crosswalk, destroying my dream bike and causing numerous injuries...well, the prosecutor contacted me to inform me that he'll be charging her with DUI (tox test was positive for drug metabolites) and 3 counts of reckless endangerment. I am both a witness and victim and I plan to make a statement to the court too. And on it goes...:(

That's good news! The case is moving forward and they are not ignoring the personal devastation in the criminal proceedings!

Hope it goes well for you. Sending you good vibes.

Thanks for the update . . . hope it all gets resolved soon, and that the aches and pains are going away.

Glad to hear you are still progressing. Accidents change us, the way we ride, think, feel. BUT, it doesn't have to be a negative change. I am just getting back to riding and now I ride a recumbent trike. An upright just won't work with my injuries, but riding is riding, right?? :) My bike, I recently found out, is now gone. No burial, no viewing. :( It was so destroyed that nothing was salvagable. It was just a rockhopper, but I miss her. Sold my cannondale upright and got two recumbents, they are sweet! Happy healing to you! Keep us updated and try to not get swallowed by the legal process. Let the attorney do the work. Just live on.

I hope they throw the book at her. Sorry this is continuing to drag out for you but hopefully your testimony will keep a danger to society, herself and her family (kids!!) off the roads for a bit. Maybe a grey cell for a bit will knock some sense into her.

What is important to me, reading this, is that the driver not be allowed to drive and that you are compensated for your injuries.

She doesn't sound like a very stable person and I question her ability to make sound judgments in her life. She needs some help in that direction too. I hope this will be an incentive for her to turn her life around. It's just unfortunate that you had to be involved in the first place.

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Originally Posted by invsblwmn

Glad to hear you are still progressing. Accidents change us, the way we ride, think, feel. BUT, it doesn't have to be a negative change. I am just getting back to riding and now I ride a recumbent trike. An upright just won't work with my injuries, but riding is riding, right?? :) My bike, I recently found out, is now gone. No burial, no viewing. :( It was so destroyed that nothing was salvagable. It was just a rockhopper, but I miss her. Sold my cannondale upright and got two recumbents, they are sweet! Happy healing to you! Keep us updated and try to not get swallowed by the legal process. Let the attorney do the work. Just live on.

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And I'm glad to hear that you're riding again - wheeeeee! Am hoping that I'll be cleared to ride without tooooo much more delay, but still have some post concussive balance issues, so I have to stay on my spin bike for now.

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Originally Posted by Bike Goddess

What is important to me, reading this, is that the driver not be allowed to drive and that you are compensated for your injuries.

She doesn't sound like a very stable person and I question her ability to make sound judgments in her life. She needs some help in that direction too. I hope this will be an incentive for her to turn her life around. It's just unfortunate that you had to be involved in the first place.

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Thanks, Nancy and yeah, that's my intent in making a statement to the court. I don't have any need to be involved in the court's criminal charges or proceedings against her; prosecutor will take care of that process. I do, however, feel strongly about how easy it's been for her to repeatedly get behind the wheel and log more traffic citations and criminal cases (in the public record)...she's only 26, but has @10 cases on the books in a number of area municipalities and courts (municipal court, district and superior courts of 2 diff counties!) since the year 2000, so SOMEONE is allowing her to blow it off and drive even more recklessly each time, so that by the time she hit me, she was truly a menace to anyone out there. It's ironic to me that she benefitted from my fitness and, at the same time, is responsible to taking from me as I've been sidelined from riding and many other activities while recovering. So, I'll be explaining to her and all, how her reckless disregard for everyone when she was driving impacted me, changed my life, literally knocked me off my bike and destroyed it...all that fun stuff:(:mad:
I hope that her behavior changes and if she chooses to speed, she'll at least watch where she's going! Even that wouldn't have prevented her from hitting me, as she was going well above the speed limit and, with bad brakes, she couldn't stop in time...just glad that it was some frail elderly person or someone pushing a baby stroller in that crosswalk, eh?
Tailwinds!
Mary

"... if she chooses to speed ..."? I think the judge needs to take that phrase out of there for you. She needs to lose her license. Permanently. She needs to become a pedestrian. It'll be better for her health, and for everyone else around her. Sentence her to walk!

MM - Her negligence and general all-round stupidity endangered the lives of not only you, but also the life of the child in the car with her. Apparently she hasn't figured this out yet? If they take away her license, they need to force the sale of the vehicle too, otherwise I'll bet you a TE gift certificate that she'll be driving again. Taking away someone's license does not stop them from driving. Taking away their wheels is what stops them.

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

MM - Her negligence and general all-round stupidity endangered the lives of not only you, but also the life of the child in the car with her. Apparently she hasn't figured this out yet? If they take away her license, they need to force the sale of the vehicle too, otherwise I'll bet you a TE gift certificate that she'll be driving again. Taking away someone's license does not stop them from driving. Taking away their wheels is what stops them.

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Agree on all counts, although she is not the registered owner of the car that she was driving, nor is she the policyholder (she is insured on the policy though). The prosecutor's criminal charge of DUI will suspend her license to drive and the 3 counts of reckless endangerment speak to the driving violations, so it "should" impact her ability to drive. Also, I am not involved in any recommendations re: punishment. What I am allowed to do in the victim impact statement is to describe how her actions/negligence/recklessness/crimes have affected me: physically, emotionally, etc and all of the ways that my life has suffered the effects from her. I will only speak to those areas in my statement.
However, if I'm called as a "witness" called by the prosecutor (not likely, as he anticipates that she'll plea out), I can certainly describe all that happened when she drove right into me and my bike.
I full-on agree that - given what her public record looks like - she should have had her driving privileges yanked. She has shown too many times that she has no care about anyone else when she's behind the wheel anyway.

Hey, does anyone know anything about a 'salvage buy-back' if I want to keep a bike part or 2? The property damages settlement is pending and I have to return all of the destroyed property, including my bike to my attorney's office for the liable insurance company to take. I'm going to write on my frame that it was hit by a car at high speed and is unsafe to ride, but I think I want to keep a wheel for future fundraising (for my AIDS rides 'spoke sponsors'; I tie a red ribbon on spokes for donations...then all ribbons come on my ride with me) as well as sentimental reasons.
Thanks for any info you can provide...
Mary

They offer buy backs on cars. The insurance company wanted me to pay $2500 for my wrecked Beetle. I don't know why you wouldn't be able to get the parts you want.

And don't just write on the frame--engrave it with a Dremel tool or something!

Karen

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Originally Posted by MM_QFC!

Legal proceedings update: almost 5 months after this speeding-reaching into the back seat to play with her 2 yr old nephew-and, oh yeah,- she knew her brakes were needing repair - driver crashed into me while I was in a signed, painted crosswalk, destroying my dream bike and causing numerous injuries...well, the prosecutor contacted me to inform me that he'll be charging her with DUI (tox test was positive for drug metabolites) and 3 counts of reckless endangerment. I am both a witness and victim and I plan to make a statement to the court too. And on it goes...:(

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I'm headed to the municipal court tomorrow to read my victim impact statement. The defendant driver (original charges in previous post above) didn't go to trial, but got a plea agreement instead. The prosecutor told me that she agreed to a guilty plea for reckless driving and 1 count of reckless endangerment, (plus the traffic citation at the scene for 'failure to yield')...the judge has ordered the driver to appear tomorrow, so she'll have to listen...we'll see how it goes...