Good Samaritans stopped to help an injured cyclist on Snoqualmie Parkway last night, called 911 and stayed with him until medical aid arrived.
According to eyewitness, Jeannie Saimo, she was driving up Snoqualmie Parkway around 5PM, April 25, 2013, when she saw the cyclist crash. She reported that he tried to get up and then fell back down. She then turned her car around and went to the scene to help. When she arrived, another woman was already there and calling 911.
Saimo described the incident, saying the male cyclist was traveling fast down Snoqualmie Parkway’s paved walk/bike path near Fisher Ave when he lost control of his bicycle and flew end over end onto the path. She and the other woman provided assistance, just trying to keep the injured man calm until aid crews arrived.
It is unknown exactly what caused the crash, but according to Saimo, the cyclist thought something in the path caused him to lose control. On the path’s down slope, just past Fisher Ave, there is a dip/rut that stretches the width of the path. Saimo said police on the scene photographed the dip/rut.
By 12PM, April 26th, the rut had been filled in. According to Mike Roy, Snoqualmie Public Works Operations Supervisor, “The city’s street crew is placed cold patch asphalt in the depression. A permanent patch to follow in a couple weeks.”
Saimo described the injured man as “very bloody” and said he appeared to have sustained some type of head injury, saying he was not wearing a helmet. EMT crews arrived within minutes, mobilized the man and transported him away by ambulance.
King County Board of Health Ordinance [BOH 9.10.010] passed in 1993 (updated July 2003 to include Seattle) requires bicyclists to wear protective helmets or face a $30 penalty. There is no state law, though, requiring cyclists to wear helmets. Past studies by Group Health and Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center show that the number of head injuries involving bicycling can be reduced 69% – 85% by wearing helmets.
Snoqualmie Police have been contacted for information on the man’s condition.
Comments
Cycling should be prohibited on the walking paths for the safety of those walking children and dogs. Bicycles should use the roadway, it’s speed limit is posted at 40 MPH. Seems to me that this could have been avoided by slowing down. Not the issue everyone is going to swarm to (Helmets being reuired, stupid laws). The repair costs of the walking path should be funded by the registration/licensing fee of cyclists,,,oh that’s right, they don’t pay any fees for using the roads and pathways.
I have 2 cars and 2 motorcycles, all registered…I pay plenty of registration fees to cover the one bicycle I ride (as most other cyclists). I agree the shoulders are safe enough on the Pkwy for cyclists to use and they should leave the sidewalk to the pedestrians (except in areas where it’s unsafe). 40 mph on a bike on the parkway is relatively safe (I’ve done it many times) but riders must be super cognizant of surroundings (pebbles, cars, pedestrians, etc). 40 mph is NOT safe on the sidewalk because of the less than ideal shape of the surface and the aforementioned pedestrians, who do not react predictably.
I’m not sure I understand how an ordinance can require a helmet and impose a fine while there is no state law requiring a helmet. That said, it is pure foolishness for anyone to ride a bicycle anywhere without a helmet. That little half bowl of foam can save your life. If you ride, you will crash at some point. It’s not IF, it is WHEN. If someone is riding 30 to 40 MPH without a helmet, I wonder if he has a death wish. Seriously!
I commend Mike Roy for once again stepping up and doing the right thing. I commend the two passersby who did the right thing. It takes a village!