I finally got my bike back from police custody yesterday, two weeks after my accident. The front fork is bent backwards, and the top and down tubes are buckled just behind the head lugs.
The woman driver of the SUV I hit went to court yesterday, charged with ‘failure to yield.’ Her defense was, she didn’t see me; she stated “I had no idea what had hit me.” I told my side of the story and the judge dismissed the case because it was just my word against hers, and he couldn’t convict beyond a reasonable doubt. There were witnesses but they only saw the impact they did didn’t see from which direction I came from.
There seemed to be some confusion as to whether I traveled straight down Savannah Hwy. (Which I did.) or if I had just turned onto Savannah Hwy, at a light some 150 feet from the point of impact. To me this is irrelevant because either way I was traveling south and had the right of way, and she pulled in front of me. The proof is the fact that I hit her.
To say “I didn’t see him” as a defense is like saying “I didn’t see him standing there when I fired the gun in that direction.”
The judge seemed to be full of the Christmas Spirit, dismissing almost every case that came before him where the defendant pleaded not guilty, and those who pleaded guilty had their fines halved.
Anyway we move on. I have put the case in the hands of cycling attorney Gary Brustin. Those of you who have not heard of Gary, he limits his practice to cycling accidents only. He is an avid cyclist himself, and owns a Fuso and a custom ‘dave moulton.’
My recovery is slow; after 17 days my right hand is still bruised and looks like this.
I have no strength in that hand and can barely hold a cup of coffee with it. I still have double vision, so I cannot drive a car. I spoke with my daughter who lives in England and is a nurse; she told me the inside of my head is probably just a badly bruised as my hand.
She is probably right, and my recovery is just going to take a little longer than I had originally hoped. I will be getting plenty of rest over the Holidays and will not be doing anything too strenuous.
5 comments:
That hand looks really bad in the picture. Get better Dave!
Back in 1989 my brother's wife was hit from behind and killed while cycling. The man got off because there were no witnesses and he claimed she hit him.???
*ouch*
I knew you had been around, but didn't realize how elderly you are until I read your five things. I'm amazed at your activity and I think you're a great example!
I met Nancy Carter up close and personal; my dad did overseas VIP protection and he was part of the team doing security for Mrs. Carter during a visit to Japan.
We all wish you a speedy recovery, but the legal system seems to be broken where cyclists are concerned. Cyclists are invisible as far as their rights are concerned. Better luck is civil court. Your attorney sounds perfect -- a cyclists specialists and a Dave Moulton fan!
Yowsa. So it's not just ILlinois. (our girl too busy downloading ringtones who killed a cyclist got a 1000 fine for "improper lane usage.")
Here, even drivers think that's too far (especially drivers who knew the cyclist). Hopefully that's also true for you.
Just got back from my own day in court. My own incident involved being run over by a taxi cab while walking on the sidewalk outside the Sears Tower. Fortunately in my case the prosecutor is doing his best to get some kind of conviction and got a continuance so a key witness can be there when the trial is held in another month. Plus it is harder to argue who is at fault when it is car vs. pedestrian on a sidewalk.
The swelling in my foot didn't go away for more than two months.
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