On October 8th, I got the phone call (not THE phone call, thankfully) that I have been expecting and dreading since David got into serious cycling. He gets hurt often on the mountain bike too, so that's not always the safest bet either. But, when your husband and father of your children rides his skinny little bike through Albuquerque traffic 40 miles per day during rush hour, it's only a matter of time before your world collides with that of an idiot. To say that the 22 year old girl who hit him was an idiot, may not be fair. But, I could call her worse than that too. Let's just say, one of the things I am grateful for is that I never had to meet her, especially that day.
The kids and I were home. We would have otherwise still been at guitar lessons, but they had been canceled that day. In fact, we were so grateful for the peaceful afternoon. They came home with brand new books from the school book orders and quietly enjoyed them over Oreo cookies and apples. It was such a rare moment of peace during the week, I actually took a picture:
I answered the phone with "are you ok?!" The fact that his voice answered the question was comforting. At least he wasn't dead. He was dazed and confused though. He blearily told me that "uh, I was just hit by a car that took off, but no worries, I'll ride home and be home soon - after I talk to the police." Sure, I'll just sit home and wait for a delirious man to ride his wrecked bike home. not! The kids and I jumped in the car faster than we ever have. He hadn't even told me exactly where he was, but since I had just seen him on the GPS, I knew he would be somewhere along road by the school and, of course, could easily spot him by the flashing police, ambulance, and fire truck lights.
It was very relieving to see that he was standing on the corner when we pulled up. He wasn't lying on a stretcher or in the middle of the road. He was really lucky. We were really lucky. He said he felt like the prayers of the kids protected him that day. He had less road rash than he does on any usual ride that includes a tumble of some sort. He had one tiny scrape on his elbow and a bruise on his hip. His helmet was smashed flat on the back. It's hard to see from the pic, but so grateful this wasn't his skull. It is now hanging on his "helmet wall of shame." It's the 3rd one he has with a dent big enough to kill a person. WEAR YOUR HELMET!!!
This? This is it?! At least when you get hit by a car you want to have something to show your friends. This was almost embarrassing.
After thinking about it for a while, he figures that the car hit him near the back quarter panel as it turned into him and he slid across the trunk and landed on his hip and back. No road rash because he didn't slide on the road. He had a backpack on, full of winter riding clothes, from the early morning ride to work. His bike, although scraped up with a few bruises, wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. The police begged him to go to the hospital in an ambulance to be checked out, but at that point, we didn't know if they had truly caught the woman, or if she was insured. We didn't want to have to pay for an unnecessary ambulance ride, so I promised them that I would take him.
He plugged in his bike computer later and it showed that he had been going 20.4 mph when she hit him. That means she was going at least 20, probably 25. She was trying to beat him and turn right around a corner in front of him as he was going straight through an intersection. Getting hit by a car going 20-25 should have left more damage than it did. We're super grateful it didn't.
I did take him to the ER to get checked out. He had a slight concussion (which I already knew because of how loopy he was. He was saying crazy things and making no sense,) but other than that - nothing really major wrong with him. The next day, he woke up feeling like he had been, well, hit by a car. He could barely work and came home after doing essential (like they would lose many millions of dollars otherwise) stuff. He couldn't turn his head for a few days, had some serious whiplash, and could barely walk around, but that was the worst of it.
We were really worried that the woman who hit him was uninsured. She did hit and run and 1/3 of NM drivers are not insured. The only reason we found her, was because a couple of good samaritans stopped to help. The couple in the car behind her, saw her hit him and take off. The wife hopped out to help David and the husband chased down the runaway car. He called the police and reported her license plate as he followed her. It turns out she did have insurance and the insurance ended up being extremely helpful, and generous (no doubt, to avoid a lawsuit) in settling the claim. They paid for the ER visit, replaced the bike and helmet, and sent him home with a few extra bucks in his wallet.
We are so thankful for this couple who took time out of their busy day to stop and help us. I know first-hand, what kind of trouble and drama you can get yourself into when trying to help someone in need (insert my story of calling the police to rescue my neighbor whose husband was trying to harm her.) I know that at minimum, they generously gave up the early part of their evening on the way home from work to track down the driver, make police reports and stay with David until everything was over. It gave me hope that, for us at least, for every idiot out there, there is a good person to keep the balance. True, this young driver couldn't have cared less about David and thoughtlessly ran into him and left him lying in the road, but there were two others who did care (and actually a 3rd too who stopped.) Without them, we would have had to pay for the ER visit ourselves and pay to have David's bike fixed and/or replaced.
To sum up: WATCH THE ROAD! WEAR YOUR HELMET! Share the road. Stop to help others. Pray for protection. Be grateful. Pay your insurance bills.
David finally decided on the bike that will be his new best friend for the next several years (sadly, he had to turn in his Specialized to the insurance company.)
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