A 40-year-old Fort Collins man planning to compete in the Boulder Ironman triathlon was the victim of an accident on June 14, 2014. The collision, which occurred in Loveland at the intersection of North Taft Avenue and 29th Street, occurred when a 72-year-old woman from Iowa driving a white Mazda turned in front of the bicyclist. An app on the man’s smartphone indicated he was riding at approximately 26 mph just before colliding with the car. He was traveling in the bike lane, and the traffic light was green, according to reports.
The cyclist suffered critical injuries in the wreck, and responders transported him to McKee Medical Center. Physicians discovered that along with multiple broken bones and extensive flesh wounds, the man also had bleeding on his brain. He was transferred to nearby Medical Center of the Rockies because the trauma center there was more capable of treating him. The brain bleeding stopped, but the bicyclist spent 11 days in the hospital.
After the accident, the woman left the scene, but she drove back by and then fled again. A witness followed the Mazda, and police apprehended the woman three miles away from the accident. Though not all the details were clear, the woman was sentenced on Jan. 30 to 320 hours of community service and four years of supervised probation. She also incurred an unspecified fine.
When a cyclist is injured in a severe motor vehicle accident, as in this case, the victim might suffer severe injuries that require extensive treatment and extended hospital stays. The cost of such services may represent a large economic burden on the victim and their family. In addition, if the victim was employed, the household may become financially unstable. However, if another party caused the crash, the courts might find them liable for the damages suffered by the victim. Compensation for such damages might be achieved through a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: The Coloradoan, “Ironman down,” Jason Pohl and Erin Hull, Feb. 8, 2015