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My friend remains hospitalized after suffering a hit-and-run crash while biking home from April's Critical Mass. I'm hoping to speak with anyone who witnessed the crash or may know who hit her.

She and her boyfriend were riding north on the Lakefront Path near 39th Street after the ride. A large group of cyclists quickly passed the two of them. One of the cyclists sped between her and her boyfriend and clipped her, knocking her to the ground head-first. The assailant looked back and saw her fall, and continued on without stopping.

She suffered from a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain, and a severe concussion. An ambulance took her from the lake path to Northwestern Memorial, where she is still being held and will remain for rehabilitation for another two weeks while she recovers her speech, walking and cognitive abilities. Thankfully, she was wearing a helmet - the injuries could have been much worse without it.

My friend and I value the community that surrounds critical mass in Chicago. She wishes to send many thanks to those who stopped and helped after the crash. People stopped traffic on the bike path, helped lock up the bikes, helped flag down and direct the ambulance, and reminded us of why this community exists - to spread goodwill, foster connections, and remind the city to have a little more fun. We want people to know what happened. This act of recklessness can never supersede the basic values we share when participating in the ride.

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As for the "large group of cyclists" - approximately how many, and were they all riding as you would in paceline, what time and date did it happen, and do they remember the make-up of the group, such as all roadies, men/women, team uniforms, etc.?  I don't even know, if you were to find the person who clipped her, what could come of it, but regardless you still want to know how it was.

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovety.

 

Terrible situation, inexcusable behavior.  Best wishes for a full recovery.

May the culprit own up to this and reach out, horrible.

It would not be a surprize if they were the Tour de France wanna bees. A friend of mine told a how one of those told a downed rider on the LFP "I hope you got hurt!" LAME

Yeah, it's the helmet's fault.

You forgot to mention that the weight of the helmet makes one top-heavy and thus far more likely to land on one's head. And, oh yeah-- what about the false sense of security a helmet gives you? I'm sure the victim would have been riding more cautiously had she not had a helmet, and would not have decided to fly off the bike when she got clipped.

Have you considered keeping a list of the anti-helmet talking points taped to your monitor so you can be more thorough?

clp said:

She suffered from a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain, and a severe concussion....

How was this possible, if she was wearing a helmet?  It just goes to show, wearing a helmet is not a guarantee that no serious injury can happen.   And the helmet possibly, can intensify and worsen the injury by increasing the head-mass, diameter, and inertia as you fall.  IOW natural reflexes to protect and "tuck in" the head cannot work because of that big, bulky helmet.

Something to think about anyway....

That is really terrible and I hope she makes a full recovery.  This should make people think twice when they are making close passes at high speeds.  

This is in rather poor taste.  Someone got seriously hurt, apparently through no fault of her own and you use the opportunity to make a bunch of anti-helmet comments and sort of imply that it might be her fault?

clp said:

She suffered from a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain, and a severe concussion....

How was this possible, if she was wearing a helmet?  It just goes to show, wearing a helmet is not a guarantee that no serious injury can happen.   And the helmet possibly, can intensify and worsen the injury by increasing the head-mass, diameter, and inertia as you fall.  IOW natural reflexes to protect and "tuck in" the head cannot work because of that big, bulky helmet.

Something to think about anyway....

Please folks, remember we're all exposed out there. This incident being caused by another cyclist makes it all the more clear that threats can come from almost anywhere.

My hope is your friend makes a complete recovery, and her biking enthusiasm isn't marred in any way from this (might be the longest part of the recovery).

That is awful. I have SERIOUS doubts that that group of cyclists was from any of the local Chicago racing teams. Most everyone I've encountered during my first season of racing rides extremely safely on the lakefront path, as we're all aware that it is NOT a place for training or going super fast, particularly at rush hour or in the dark. The riders on the local teams would be more likely to be the ones who stopped and help, and many of the racers have been known to pull over to help someone who has had a flat, a mechanical, or god forbid an injury.

and here's a shameless plug for my helmet article on tinyfix.
http://tinyfixbikegang.com/the-bicycle-helmet-debate-now-with-science/
your talking points are outweighed by science.

Great place to argue about helmets asshole.

clp said:

She suffered from a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain, and a severe concussion....

How was this possible, if she was wearing a helmet?  It just goes to show, wearing a helmet is not a guarantee that no serious injury can happen.   And the helmet possibly, can intensify and worsen the injury by increasing the head-mass, diameter, and inertia as you fall.  IOW natural reflexes to protect and "tuck in" the head cannot work because of that big, bulky helmet.

Something to think about anyway....

Best wishes for full recovery--and, yet again, this sort of thing is why I avoid the LFP.  Just too many riders, too fast, some too reckless, some too clueless.

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