A Knoxville bicyclist’s whole life changed abruptly as he rode his bike the other day. He was heading downhill, probably going between 25 and 30 mph on Tedford Lane, a not-well-traveled road that runs next to a ravine.
The driver of a truck apparently didn’t see him and came into contact with his bicycle. This caused him to strike a guard rail and plunge 20 to 30 feet off the road, deep into the vegetation of the ravine.
The driver of the truck kept on going, and apparently didn’t care enough to stop and check to see if the biker was okay. At first, he could barely move at all, and was hidden from traffic passing by. To give you an idea how injured he was, he sustained a broken arm, a broken leg, 10 broken ribs, a broken hip and a collapsed lung.
Somehow, with his good arm, he was able to crawl up a bit — an inch at a time, he says — and throw his helmet onto the roadway to attract attention. A motorcyclist eventually noticed and stopped to render aid. And in a stroke of luck, the next person to stop to help was an orthopedic surgeon.
Police are still searching for the hit-and-run driver. The bicyclist’s boss says that his employer is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest of the driver. In addition, his uncle is contributing $1,000 toward the fund. In the meantime, he has the support of his family and friends as he recovers.
Source: WBIR, “$6K reward offered for Knoxville hit & run bike accident,” Hillary Lake, Aug. 3, 2012
• Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Knoxville car accident page.