Bike vs truck

[Melalvai]

The truck is in the ditch. My daughter's in the hospital. I'm not sure who won.
The short version:
My daughter and I were biking home from clarinet lesson last night at 6:00 p.m. I was right behind her. There was a vehicle a long ways behind us. I thought we had time to make our left turn into our driveway when I scanned. I don't think Nell scanned but she would have made the same judgment. We both moved to the left part of the lane which is a maneuver to make ourselves more visible. I signaled as she started the left turn. The truck however was passing us.

The truck collided with her front wheel. We're not sure which vehicle hit the other.

It all happened right in front of my eyes and I'm not sure which vehicle hit the other. I don't remember that part of it. I remember screaming. I screamed a lot. So did Nell, after she regained consciousness.

She has a fractured skull, which the neurologist is not worried about. He's more concerned about possible bruising. Her pinkie finger is broken and she has amazing road rash. They transferred us to the Columbia hospital. It's possible she can go home today, probably at least by tomorrow.

Nell wears her helmet 100%. I wear my helmet 99.9%. Seriously--out of 365 days, there were 3 rides that I did not wear my helmet (excessive heat). After last night I am a 100% helmet. WITH the helmet she "only" has a fractured skull.

Is the bike ok? According to the police report the bike sustained minor damage and the truck moderate. Probably most of its damage from driving off the road! I think her bike is going to be fine with some repair.

Is the clarinet ok? It was in her basket, with her music, a bungie cord over it all. The basket was zip-tied to her rack. The zip-ties broke and are scattered all over the highway. The basket landed neatly upright in the grass.

[PamNY]

Oh my goodness; that sounds so frightening. I'm glad things aren't worse and send all good wishes for a quick recovery.

[Becky]

Oh my gosh! Sending good vibes your way!

[tangentgirl]

Scary! But all in all, sounds lucky. Here's to a speedy recovery.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, man.

((((((Mel & Nell))))))

Sending good vibes for quick healing (both physical and emotional).

[Eden]

Wow - I'm glad she's (mostly) OK. I hope the driver gets at least a few tickets!

[lph]

OH MY G... What a terrifying experience. I would much rather be in a crash myself than witness my son be in one. Thank to the powers that be for just touching wheels - and good healing to your poor daughter. That road rash is going to be h*ll.

[jessmarimba]

That must've been awful to watch as a parent, knowing you couldn't do anything to stop it. I'm so glad she will be ok.

I just hope the driver learned something from the experience and feels bad about it, rather than feeling defensive and "in the right."

(And the helmet thing - I used to be pretty lazy about it for slow casual dirt path rides. Now I have a hard time not lecturing every cyclist I see without one, regardless of where or what they're riding!)

[Owlie]

Holy cow. Good vibes your way, to both of you.

[badgercat]

How scary that must have been for both of you. I'm glad she'll be ok.

[indysteel]

OMG; that sounds awful. I hope Nell recovers quickly and completely and that you recover from the shock of seeing your child injured right in front of you. Did you or the cops talk to the driver? Was there some confusion on the driver's part or was she/he just intent on not sharing the road?

This scenario hits home for me because we have to turn left from most of our rides into our driveway and live on a street where motorists seem REALLY intent on ignoring the 20 mph speed limit. Even when I'm not on my bike, I get incredibly angry about it. The local park is on the same street so there are usually a fair number of kids in the area.

[OakLeaf]

I am NOT NOT NOT saying this was in any way, shape or form your fault or Nell's.

But when I'm turning left on a road with traffic, I signal for a LONG time, and I usually point my finger and waggle my wrist up and down (point to the sky while leaving my elbow extended, then point left, repeat several times). Figuring that the movement will make my signal more visible. Plus I'm always wearing either hi-viz yellow, or a couple of my older winter things are bright red.

Just my practice ... and if it helps someone avoid this situation in the future, that's all I mean by sharing it here.

[Cataboo]

Oh Mel, I'm so sorry I hope your daughter recovers quickly.

[hebe]

oh no. I hope that Nell makes a full and fast recovery, and that you are ok too, I think I would be in pieces. Please be gentle on yourself for a little while, won't you? I can't imagine that the shock will fade quickly and you'll need to give yourself a little time.

[Biciclista]

wow, amazing... heh, you sound SO CALM here. I'm so sorry your daughter got so scratched up and i'm glad it's "only" a skull fracture too.

what i want to know is why is the truck in a ditch? what wasthe driver doing that ended up off the road?