Description

Left Tom Tom Super Demo at Boylan Heights around 5:25pm. Riding east on W. Main St. A friend is riding about a block ahead of me. He passed the bus just before the incident.

Vehicle traffic is slow, at this point we are traveling faster than vehicle traffic. We pass the construction area just past the intersection, and now there is a clear bike lane. I am in it. As I approach 11th St. bus stop, CAT bus begins pulling in to the bus stop, through me.

As much as I can remember, I must have been about where the circle is on this image. My instinct was to swerve out of the way, hopefully becoming more visible. As I was about even with the entry door to the bus, he made a sharp turn into me, striking my bicycle, resulting in me going over the handlebars.

I did a full flip, making contact with both hands, then my right shoulder, back, hip. I slid for a bit, managing to scrape up my right knee pretty good, and both elbows along with the scrapes noted above. The hip took the brunt of it. I have pictures of everything, but I'll spare you.

I was able to stand up, went over to grab my bike which was a good distance onto the sidewalk. Luckily, it didn't hit anybody. The front wheel was taco'd, but besides that, seemed ok. Luckily, my friend road back, and made sure the situation was handled well. He called the police. Someone else called the ambulance.

The bus driver, even after striking me, seemed not to know what was going on. Said he was sorry, that he never saw me. There were a number of witnesses, but I was not with it enough to get their info. The EMT's were very helpful. So were many people passing by, offering assistance, and saying they'd contact me, I assume to act as witnesses. The driver's supervisor Wanda Folkes, was not friendly. Barely said anything to me. I did not like her attitude at all.

I thought I was thorough in describing the incident to officer Michael Hudson, but apparently not.

My friend called his wife, she drove over with a bike rack, and took me to Martha Jefferson ER. I arrived around 6:30 and was there till about 10:30. My doctor (no shit) was named Russell Buss.