What kind of a person does this?

A guy on my MS150 team was hit by a car last Friday. He was out riding at lunch time, and apparently was hit by a car or truck. He was riding alone on a quiet, country road where there is little to no traffic. Luckily, someone saw the accident (or him on the side of the road) and called 911. The driver of the vehicle disappeared. Two good samaritans stopped and he was taken to the hospital.

He's going to be ok, but he's got a concussion, a broken collar bone, a broken scapula and 4 broken ribs. He remembers nothing about what happened.

I'm so glad to hear that he's ok and in good spirits...but seriously. Who does that? :confused: Who hits a human being hard enough to cause that much damage on a big guy and then drives off? :mad:

Cycling is so popular around here and seeing riders on the roads surrounding my office building is extremely common...particularly at lunch time. There are no less than 6 businesses in the immediate area who regularly have small groups of riders out there. I'm just stunned that this would happen in this area. I guess this one is just hitting abnormally close to home (figuratively and literally). :(

People that have no regard for another are the kinds that do that. It never ceases to amaze me the things some people will do to avoid getting into trouble, rather than standing up and taking responsiblity for their actions.
They probably hit him, got scared and hit the gas. It seems a lot of folks these days lose their conscience when it comes to living with it or getting into trouble.

I'm sorry for your friend and I hope he recovers quickly. I hope the witneses saw something and can help find the culprit.

As weird as it sounds, it could be they didn't know. A friend of mine was hit by an RV. The driver only stopped because he saw the other cyclists with her, clustered around her. He had absolutely no idea he had clipped her.

Those trucks with the huge outrigger mirrors for backing up trailers scare me for the same reason. Do the drivers really know how much they stick out?


Hope he heals quickly and well.

V.

Cowards do that.

No-good slimey cowards who aren't man enough (or woman enough) to do what is right.

Miscreants.
Someone who is doing something illegal already.
People who are so unaware of their surroundings they shouldn't even be driving.

I'm glad to hear your friend is still alive. I wouldn't say he OK, though.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

Miscreants.
Someone who is doing something illegal already.
People who are so unaware of their surroundings they shouldn't even be driving.

I'm glad to hear your friend is still alive. I wouldn't say he OK, though.

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yes. Zen said it. SOmeone who is already doing something illegal. Like driving without a license, DWI, going to visit his illicit girlfriend, etc, etc, etc...
in possession of drugs,...
or DWC (driving while CLUELESS!!!)

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Originally Posted by Veronica

As weird as it sounds, it could be they didn't know. A friend of mine was hit by an RV. The driver only stopped because he saw the other cyclists with her, clustered around her. He had absolutely no idea he had clipped her.

Those trucks with the huge outrigger mirrors for backing up trailers scare me for the same reason. Do the drivers really know how much they stick out?

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Depending on my mood, I guess, I'd be willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt and go with Veronica's comment.

I met a neighbor - now good friend - when we both stopped to help a woman who was knocked from her bike into gravel on the side of the road by a pickup pulling a trailer. The narrow road was curving to the left, and as the driver followed the bend, the trailer went and clipped her and sent her sprawling (fortunately, nothing more than road rash and a torn pair of shorts).

But yes....regardless...it is a sign of DWC....driving while clueless... and doesn't excuse anything. I like that, Mimi...DWC...DH and I use the term "automotively challenged."

I ride on a country road that is kind of narrow and I have trucks pass me all the time. There are times after they pass that I wonder how they didn't hit me. I stay to the right and if another car is coming they still come around me with no regard what so ever of the fact that if I hit a pot hole, or needed to swerve to miss something in the road I couldn't. By law I believe that they are suppose to give you 3 feet when passing. If they cannot pass safely with that three feet then they are to wait until oncoming traffic passes and then proceed to pass you. Of course, that doesn't seem to matter and I don't think most drivers who do not ride bikes have a clue about what the laws are regarding these circumstances.
Does not negate thier responsibility when they hit someone though. When I pass someone on a bike, I always look back at them after I pass. I mean, my God if they weren't there anymore I would have to wonder what happened, ya know.

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Originally Posted by pooks

Cowards do that.

No-good slimey cowards who aren't man enough (or woman enough) to do what is right.

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That is exactly what these sub-humans are - filthy, slimy, cowards.

People sometimes disgust me (and sometimes amaze me with their compassion). This story is both. Driver- disgusting. Onlookers- amazing!
I'm glad that your friend has his life, but it'll be a long road of recovery. I'll be thinking of him!

People now don't care about others or their belongings. It's sad. This is NOT the same, but the other day I was in the parking lot of Old Navy. A huge SUV pulled into a spot and hit the car in front of it (like he didn't know how huge his front end was). He backed up, got out, and went inside like nothing happened. He knew he hit it, because he backed up. IDIOT! I wrote down his license plate # and went into the store to see if they could page the owner of the car that was hit, but they don't have a PA system. :( I would've left a note for the car that was hit, but it was raining buckets, and the note would've gotten wet and bled (I tried, but I didn't have a baggie to keep it dry). Grrrr... no regard for the other person's car. :mad: It didn't have any visible damage, but it still made me mad.

Yeah V, I thought of that. But, there really is no way...I mean the road that he was on is only about 1/4 mile long, totally straight and flat (pretty unusual around here) and it leads to a super quiet residential area. There is no reason for any large vehicle to go down there...

I'm also inclined to believe that this person had something else to hide.

This particular stretch of road is right off a very busy road and just down from a crazy intersection. When we ride, we always breathe a bit of a sigh of relief when we get to it and can relax a bit. Not anymore. I lead beginner training rides down that way twice a week and you can bet that we'll be hyper alert from here on out.

And thanks for the kind words. He's doing suprisingly well. :)

... many humans, alas, if they make a horrible mistake but nobody saw it, will have a very strong impulse to disappear. It's cowardly... but it's human. It's one of the reasons that in some parts of our culture, we're taught often how cowardlly it is so we can resist that natural urge... but it's not as common these days.
It can also be a miscreant, somebody who's already illegal, somebody oblivious...

DDH, if you can think far ahead enough, instead of staying to the right, safely move out into the lane and show the palm of your hand to the driver behind you. If you see a car coming before they can, like on hills and such, this is the only safe way to to avoid the situation of being passed by two cars at the same time. It has worked for me many times.

I think the drivers generally appreciate that I'm paying attention and would like for them to pass. This way they get to pass on my terms, which is going to be 10 times more safe than the way they might do it.

Karen

If this were in my area (So Cal), I'd say they may have been an illegal alien who didn't want to get deported. Or they may not have insurance. Could be someone running from the law. Could be an immature teenager that freaked out and reacted before thinking it through.

Any way you look at it, it's a very sad thing to hit someone like that and just leave. I'm so glad your friend is okay. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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Originally Posted by Tuckervill

DDH, if you can think far ahead enough, instead of staying to the right, safely move out into the lane and show the palm of your hand to the driver behind you. If you see a car coming before they can, like on hills and such, this is the only safe way to to avoid the situation of being passed by two cars at the same time. It has worked for me many times.

I think the drivers generally appreciate that I'm paying attention and would like for them to pass. This way they get to pass on my terms, which is going to be 10 times more safe than the way they might do it.

Karen

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I have thought about that, and I know a lot of the girls say to take their lane, and I try, but chicken out because the drivers around here are crazy and I wouldn't trust them not to run me over and or try to bump me out of the way. NO KIDDING The road rage and stupidity of drivers around here beats all I have ever seen.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend and his accident. I hope that his recovery goes well for him.

Riding on country roads is a fear of mine and one that I will have to overcome in the near future as I will be living in North Carolina by the end of August. I am signed up for the MS 150 on September 7th and 8th from New Burn. Is this the one that you are signed up to do as well?

Karri

I'm so glad that he is doing ok. And is in good spirits.

As much as I am personally aware that drivers drive negligently (and furthermore that negligent drivers are still responsible for the damage that they do), I will say that I incurred more damage than that with just me and the pavement. If you are going 25 mph and hit the road, it hurts and breaks bones.

Unless there was a witness or some evidence of a vehicle being involved, it's possible that there was no vehicle involved.

I am happy your friend is doing well and his spirit is not crushed! I am sorry that the driver did not stop. I wasn't there and I don't know the full story. However, I am willing to bet that the driver heard/ felt something. I mean we notice when large bugs hit the windshield- not to compare your friend to an anthropod. We complain about pothole roads. We get upset when people shoulder us on the street. There are things we are willing to give time to think about and there are things some people are willing to run away from. Maybe we all need to shift our perspective just a little bit. But well you all know my perspective...

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Unless there was a witness or some evidence of a vehicle being involved, it's possible that there was no vehicle involved.

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That thought crossed my mind, too. How do you know he was actually hit by a car if he can't remember what happened?

Karen