Direct quote from the article from Patrick Lange, who was there:
"We were riding on a quiet road we have done a dozen times before, and a car from the other direction just turned across the road and took her outâ€- I’m not doing the sensationalizing.
The article doesn’t mention whether or not the driver stopped, but considering they have pictures of the car, my guess is that they stopped.
I did a training camp in the same area last August. I swam at the same pools as Kat and Patrick and likely was biking on the same roads (though I haven’t gone through their Strava pages to confirm). Most all of my biking in the six years or so prior to then was in I’ve been in this sport has been in the Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Asheville, Chattanooga, Cape Cod, and Rockland County, NY areas.
I was never so afraid of riding my bike as I was when I was riding in The Woodlands and surrounding area. There is just flat out no respect from the drivers for cyclists and the high speed of traffic is insane. Part of that is because the roads are so straight relative to other areas, so I get why the speed limit is higher and motorists go faster. In one week there I never found a route that I would recommend to a friend who wanted to ride their bike in the area, including the group ride I did with 70+ locals. You don’t have to look far back into this forum to read another article about a truck driving in the same area (maybe 20 miles from where Kat was hit) that “coal rolled” a group of cyclists, lost control, and ran into three of them, causing them to be hospitalized (my recollection may be imprecise on some of these details - see September 2021 discussion on same topic).
This is a shame because the swim training I did was amazing and the heat adaptation in the area is probably close to identical to what these athletes need to prepare for Kona, but as for outdoor cycling there—I wouldn’t do it. Not until infrastructure changes in a major way or drivers start to respect cyclists more.
I lived in Greenville, NC for about 3 years, pancake flat and very rural outside of the city. There were enough roads to find routes with little traffic, but getting on a road that went from one town to another wasn’t wise. Long site lines, and open fields made for very fast driving, and of course no shoulders. Just had to learn by experience what were busy vs. less travelled roads since they didn’t look any different when riding or on maps.
Direct quote from the article from Patrick Lange, who was there:
"We were riding on a quiet road we have done a dozen times before, and a car from the other direction just turned across the road and took her outâ€- I’m not doing the sensationalizing.
The article doesn’t mention whether or not the driver stopped, but considering they have pictures of the car, my guess is that they stopped.
When I read your post which I think said “swerved”, my first thought was an out of control driver (drunk, speeding, texting, medical event, etc.) but the story makes it sound like it was a case of turning in front of her which at least suggests some lesser degree of irresponsibility.
Direct quote from the article from Patrick Lange, who was there:
"We were riding on a quiet road we have done a dozen times before, and a car from the other direction just turned across the road and took her outâ€- I’m not doing the sensationalizing.
The article doesn’t mention whether or not the driver stopped, but considering they have pictures of the car, my guess is that they stopped.
Bahahaha! How do you get “swerved” from “turned across the road and took her out”? They made a left hand turn - “turned across the road” - and she crashed into them - “took her out”.
But at least you agree that they didn’t have to stop the driver, as you said in your first post.
Terrible shame, she was a podium contender for sure! Hope she makes a full recovery! The Army, will look after her.
How tragic! So many competitive players are out for Kona this year!
It’s starting to look and feel like St. George in May with so many top people out. Jan, Alistair, Kat, Cody Beals, Sam Long, Nikki Bartlett, anybody else? I think this is one for the Norwegians to lose. That is, unless one of them comes down with a bug or worse days before the race!
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Of course it is true that distracted drivers and speeding motorists exist in every state, but I don’t think all areas are the same. The two places where I do the most outdoor riding are Chicago and Tampa. Even though the weather-beaten roads suck and the weather can be terrible in Chicago, I’ll take it over Tampa any day. There is a much stronger bike culture there; cars expect to see bikes and are much more tolerant of them. The parts of Tampa where I’ve ridden it feels like too many motorists see cyclists’ mere existence as an affront. The one week I spent in Houston led me to believe that it’s a lot closer to Tampa than Chicago.
I don’t mean any of this as a criticism of Kat at all. I feel terrible for her and frustrated that there isn’t more infrastructure to protect cyclists in all our cities.
You wouldn’t want to ride on the road in Tampa, but at least there’s a lot of trails nearby which mean you don’t have to be near any cars. Is there nothing like this in Texas?
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Is English your second language? Not only does the article not say anything about whether the driver was careful - which it appears they were not careful enough -, but now you’re implying that I somehow am defending the driver. Go back and read my responses to practice your English reading skills. I’m not defending the driver. I’m challenging you sensationalizing the article.
You never ride in Texas road. View is clear, road is straight, not many cars so people speed and on the phone all the time. I know several people got killed and hurt. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine got hit last week and he’s in rehab. Houston is not a good place to train. I’m sorry to hear this. Just saw her at PTO last weekend in Dallas.
this is really a stupid statement. i live in texas and our roads are no different than any anywhere. you get a variation of roads with night big clean shoulders, some with barely a shoulder then some where you dare not tread. you have courteous drivers and jerks.
i’ve found a few decent routes i feel mostly comfortable on for longer rides where i’m forced for short periods of time to ride with cars and no shoulder.
you can get hit and killed anywhere at any time.
Perspectives like yours are why drivers get off with “failure to use turn signals” in cases like this, instead of much more serious charges. Oh no! They misjudged the distance and almost killed someone. There is another article on the forum about a cyclist who was killed by a driver in Florida.
A friend of mine was killed when a driver “swerved” into a bike lane. Oopsie daisy! I’ve been hit by a car that ran a stop sign and knocked into traffic. Oh no! I guess your preferred term would be misjudged where the lines on the road were.
Drivers all the time hit and run cyclists. The article didn’t mention that the driver stopped.
Please, continue to show your true colors and downplay the actions of the driver.
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Is English your second language? Not only does the article not say anything about whether the driver was careful - which it appears they were not careful enough -, but now you’re implying that I somehow am defending the driver. Go back and read my responses to practice your English reading skills. I’m not defending the driver. I’m challenging you sensationalizing the article.
Typical apologist attitude. This kind of attitude just helps along the narrative that these are “accidents.†When you lost a loved one or friend to stupid driver behavior like many of us perhaps you’re outlook will change.
https://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Kat_Matthews_Hit_by_Driver_in_Texas_8498.html
Investigation remains open. As you can imagine, no charges filed against the driver at this time.
It seems like in the United States drivers often get off with extremely light repurcussions in general. That said, it only appears that way through my optics.
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Is English your second language? Not only does the article not say anything about whether the driver was careful - which it appears they were not careful enough -, but now you’re implying that I somehow am defending the driver. Go back and read my responses to practice your English reading skills. I’m not defending the driver. I’m challenging you sensationalizing the article.
Typical apologist attitude. This kind of attitude just helps along the narrative that these are “accidents.†When you lost a loved one or friend to stupid driver behavior like many of us perhaps you’re outlook will change.
Can you not read English either? Did you notice that I never used the word “accident� This was intentional. You jump to conclusions that I’ve never been hit, which is a bit more personal than a loved one or friend. I’ve been hit once while riding (fortunately with few injuries) and once while running (six weeks in traction and nearly six months before I was finally able to walk without crutches).
That sucks. Kat was for sure a podium contender this year.
I guess on the bright side she doesn’t have to pay for a trip to Kona with British Pounds!
You never ride in Texas road. View is clear, road is straight, not many cars so people speed and on the phone all the time. I know several people got killed and hurt. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine got hit last week and he’s in rehab. Houston is not a good place to train. I’m sorry to hear this. Just saw her at PTO last weekend in Dallas.
this is really a stupid statement. i live in texas and our roads are no different than any anywhere. you get a variation of roads with night big clean shoulders, some with barely a shoulder then some where you dare not tread. you have courteous drivers and jerks.
i’ve found a few decent routes i feel mostly comfortable on for longer rides where i’m forced for short periods of time to ride with cars and no shoulder.
you can get hit and killed anywhere at any time.
I don’t think any large city is safe for riding and running. I was in the Woodlands this spring and found the drivers to be aggressive and speeds were high. I’ve experienced the same in Miami and most other urban areas.
It really isn’t safe on the road and my wife and I do all our riding on Zwift. We live in a rural area where it is ‘safer’… We’ve talked about riding outside a little more. Stories like the Kat Matthews accident make you think twice. You have one life.
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Is English your second language? Not only does the article not say anything about whether the driver was careful - which it appears they were not careful enough -, but now you’re implying that I somehow am defending the driver. Go back and read my responses to practice your English reading skills. I’m not defending the driver. I’m challenging you sensationalizing the article.
Typical apologist attitude. This kind of attitude just helps along the narrative that these are “accidents.†When you lost a loved one or friend to stupid driver behavior like many of us perhaps you’re outlook will change.
Can you not read English either? Did you notice that I never used the word “accident� This was intentional. You jump to conclusions that I’ve never been hit, which is a bit more personal than a loved one or friend. I’ve been hit once while riding (fortunately with few injuries) and once while running (six weeks in traction and nearly six months before I was finally able to walk without crutches).
More insults? Take your pedantic rant to the lavender room you hypocritical, keyboard warrior. You’re still alive and very self centered with is a lot less noteworthy than those that lose their lives to this nonsense. Every, single crash with peds and bikes should be sensationalized. Much more to be gained from this than you apologists trying to censor those that actually care about the community.
Meanwhile, swerving away from diminishing the driver’s and emphasising the Texas roads’ part in this, Kat is up walking (in a brace) and husband is out there. Those she’s been training with, notably Lange and Astle, must be headed for Kona very soon. GWS and hope the bike’s OKish - the marks of the bar ends can be seen on the bonnet of the car involved. If they were Wattshop I guess they’ll have been up for taking that sort of hit.
Meanwhile, swerving away from diminishing the driver’s and emphasising the Texas roads’ part in this, Kat is up walking (in a brace) and husband is out there. Those she’s been training with, notably Lange and Astle, must be headed for Kona very soon. GWS and hope the bike’s OKish - the marks of the bar ends can be seen on the bonnet of the car involved. If they were Wattshop I guess they’ll have been up for taking that sort of hit.
Her latest instagram post read that she was ‘TBC on a lot of things still’, I don’t know if I’m misinterpreting to read that as not having completely ruled out Kona? Surely you can’t go from being in a hospital bed in a neck brace to racing Kona in a little over a week, though?
Ah yes, the driver was being very careful, and there accidentally was a group of cyclists who, by their own fault, were in the driver’s way as they made a left turn into them. Sorry, I will work on my phrasing.
Is English your second language? Not only does the article not say anything about whether the driver was careful - which it appears they were not careful enough -, but now you’re implying that I somehow am defending the driver. Go back and read my responses to practice your English reading skills. I’m not defending the driver. I’m challenging you sensationalizing the article.
Typical apologist attitude. This kind of attitude just helps along the narrative that these are “accidents.†When you lost a loved one or friend to stupid driver behavior like many of us perhaps you’re outlook will change.
Can you not read English either? Did you notice that I never used the word “accident� This was intentional. You jump to conclusions that I’ve never been hit, which is a bit more personal than a loved one or friend. I’ve been hit once while riding (fortunately with few injuries) and once while running (six weeks in traction and nearly six months before I was finally able to walk without crutches).
I feel like every time one of these discussions come up, we enter some alternative world where the word accident is no longer allowed to mean what it means in every other usage of it in the English language.