DETROIT—The intersection of Woodward and Mack became the site of yet another bicycle-related accident last Friday. Thankfully, the collision, which involved a young man with a bike and a pickup truck, didn't end on a tragic note.
According to Wayne State police, the incident took place on Nov. 8 at 3:50 p.m. when the driver of a motor vehicle hit a 16-year-old Detroit resident who was travelling along a crosswalk with his bike.
The truck driver, a 73-year-old man who lives in the greater Midtown area, was going west on Mack and turning north on Woodward. He failed to stop, injuring the young man, then continued to travel 185 feet down the road with the bike underneath.
Alyssa Goch, a freelance marketer and graphic designer from Armada, Mich., witnessed the aftermath of the accident and described it to Mode Shift.
"It was traumatic," she said. “I drove by, and I saw a couple cop cars. There was a white Chevy truck like a Silverado, handlebars sticking up from it and it looked like a Schwinn. I don't know if any one was hurt.”
Lt. David Scott of the Wayne State Police told Mode Shift that the crash victim was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
While police cited the motorist for failing to yield to a pedestrian, the 16-year-old was not found to have contributed to the accident. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
Detroit has experienced a string of fatal bike crashes involving motor vehicles over the last several months.
An eight-year-old boy, Darrin Wilhite, was hit and killed on Detroit’s west side in September. Later that month, Slow Roll corker Hal Williams suffered a fatal crash near Joy Road and the I-96 service drive. In early October, an unidentified cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Michigan Avenue in Southwest Detroit.
Goch, who helps organize a bike ride in Romeo, Mich. called the Farmada Free Ride, told Mode Shift she didn’t think these troubling events should discourage people from riding bikes in the city.
“I feel comfortable biking in Detroit, but I know enough [of the road rules] to hopefully keep respect mutual between me and drivers,” she said. “Both the drivers and the bikers should be following the rules.”
Clarification: The original article quoted Goch as saying she knew "all the road rules." It has been changed to clarify the meaning of the statement.
If you see or hear of accidents involving bicylists, please send us a note.
