I noticed in some of the race reports that people mentioned the girl on the bike (#34) who hit a parked car. In case anyone is wondering racer #34 is one of my good friends. In general, she doesn’t remember too much about the accident. Based on her injuries she likely hit the car with her face. From what she recalls she believes that the car was pulling out and cut her off. The police report indicates that the car was parked without a driver. I think its safe to assume that everything happened very quickly. More importantly, and very surprisingly, she did not suffer any life threatening injuries. She was taken away in an ambulance and therefore was unable to finish the race, but even if she was physically able to her bike tore into two pieces from the impact. She has been able to walk away with a minor concussion, some swelling on the right side of her face, a shiner and bruising on the right side of her body. As you can expect she is quite sore but very fortunate. In addition, she had only positive things to say about the treatment she received by the paramedics and the Saranac Lake hospital.
It was her first DNF but she still made it back to the race to see me cross the finish line. It meant a lot to see her there supporting me. We trained very hard for the race and I have a feeling she might be back next year to become and Tinman.
Rika that is excellent news and I am glad to hear it. Although I was right behind your friend when it happened I only heard and did not see the accident. As I rode up to her I admit I was fearing the worst as it did sound like 2 cars colliding and she was on the ground and not moving or making any noise. Myself and 2 other men stopped to help her and convinced some locals to call 911. One of the guys seemed to have some medical experience and almost immediately the sirens of the ambulance could be heard. It was at that point that I realized I would have been only getting in the way of the experts and moved on. If you or your friend would like more detail about what I saw shoot me a PM.
Please pass along my best wishes for a speedy recovery to your friend,
Joe
PS - Maybe this should be a whole other thread but I was appalled by the the number of riders who didnt even bother to stop to ask if everyone was OK. At that point of the race how could anyone know that this was a single rider accident? Most people were all jacked up with energy and were flying by without even thinking about asking if anyone/everyone was OK. Well, I was the first racer to reach your friend and I was on the road shouting and asking her if she was OK. It was obvious I was not getting any response from her and equally obvious I lacked the proper medical training to assist. Luckily the 2 other racers stopped and then someone came out of their house and we got them to call 911. But as the 3 of us stood there I would say at least 20 to 30 racers came by. Most not even looking to see what was up. It was disgusting. Now I’m not saying I’m a savior or anything but we are a bunch of adults swimming, biking and running. Is the race itself that important?
"I was appalled by the the number of riders who didnt even bother to stop to ask if everyone was OK. "
yeah. i got called out for being too *moral *for suggesting on another recent thread that no race is too important to leave someone in agony…to say nothing about the OP’s mention that a PR was on the line as his additional reasoning to go by a downed rider.
on behalf of all of us who may crash somewhere along the line…thanks for doing the right thing.
This is no different than the debate that occurs whenever 50 climbers leave a half dead guy 300m from the summit of Everest and then the 51st guy stops his summit attempt and hauls the guy back to camp IV-III-II witha sherpa guide…same psychology on both sides of the fence.
Dev, while I get the point you are trying to make how can one possibly compare Everest to Tupper Lake? At 29,000 + feet EVERYONE’S life is constantly at stake and I could see the decision being made to leave someone behind. But a downed rider less than 5 miles out of T1 in a rinky dink triathlon? This poor girl crashed into a parked car at 20+MPH for Christ sake and EVERYONE who passed could have helped in some way. I just dont get it.
<< This poor girl crashed into a parked car at 20+MPH for Christ sake and EVERYONE who passed could have helped in some way >>
Could have helped HOW? Unless somebody going by was an EMT, and had their gear with them on the bike, then what exactly could they do more than the first person on the scene who called for and got help?
I feel terrible for the girl (and it was right in town, probably the first mile, maybe less where it happened if my addled mind recalls correctly), and by the time I went by, the paramedics were already loading her on the backboard into the ambulance.
(so Parkito, they were probably already gone by the time you came by just a few mins later, which is why you didn’t see any of that)
Let’s consider the opposite scenario - what if EVERYONE stopped? What then?
OK, they’d all get kudos for being concerned citizens, but frankly they’d all just be in the way.
Glad to hear she’s going to be ok. That’s the most important thing.
Thanks for posting this and send well wishes (from Scott in Montreal) to her for a speedy recovery. Too bad about the bike but i am glad that’s the worst that came out of it. Sounds like quite the studette if she made it back to see you finish.
“I was appalled by the the number of riders who didnt even bother to stop to ask if everyone was OK. At that point of the race how could anyone know that this was a single rider accident?”
My thoughts are basically the same as Murphy’sLaw’s. I’m not trained to offer any useful help in these situations, i saw you there with her along with at least one other person, maybe more? From the quick visual survey i did i decided that there wasn’t anything useful i could contribute. Obviously if she was lying there unattended i would have stopped just like you did. I’m guessing most of the people who rode by would too. In any case i’m sure she is very greatfull you were there.
This poor girl crashed into a parked car at 20+MPH for Christ sake and EVERYONE who passed could have helped in some way. I just dont get it.
I agree with Murph, I think the first and second riders should stop at an accident scene, three tops. The down persons’ status needs to be accessed, info passed to someone for a call for the necessary help, and maybe someone to help direct bikers around the accident, particularly if the rider is down in the road or there is very little shoulder. But, beyond that, there isn’t anything else anyone can do unless one happens to be specially trained or in the business, and is carrying some unusual race gear that would be of help. I sure don’t qualify by any of those.
As far as the other riders not stopping, you might want to get their side of the story before you unilaterally pass judgment. Maybe they were busy avoiding traffic themselves, just completing a pass, watching some road traffic with caution as there was probably at least one vehicle driver passing the scene rubber necking at the down rider and not the road or the other cyclists. In other words, there are a lot of things going on, so that making a blanket statement and charge is really unsupportable at best, and down right harsh at worst.
From the description, the accident sounds like it happened just two miles from transition, in town, with plenty of phones around. With respect to medical support, I don’t think you get any luckier than that. The proof in the pudding is that the scene was gone by the time I passed, and I am guessing that that occurred within five minutes after Murphys Law passed by.
Interesting. Ironman LP 2006 at mile 90 during the Willimington climb back into town I saw a guy go down trying to get to his water bottle. Another rider rode over his head, fell down, picked up his bike, got back on and took off like it was riding into Paris for the TDF, never looking back, Fortuantely, the guys whose head was run over was ok (his helmet took the brunt of it). However, NOT ONE person stoped. I looked back after at least 50 people passed him, laying on the ground, dazed and turned around and went back, just to make sure he was ok enough to continue riding (I am not am EMT but am certified in CPR/LST). Same thing happened at our local tri-club race in 2005, some stupid iditoic moronic person who could not hold 12mph behind a semi-truck with wind of 50mph in the same direction was in the “preying mantis” posistion and her tt helmet and rear-ended a dude changing a flat (next to his bike). Dislocted his shoulder, cracked his frame, and did not even stop to ask if he was ok. She did argue with the club’s “ceo” about losing the season title by several points (as a result of going slower in that race over the crash). A true shining example of what we all should strive to be, lol.
While I agree with the argument about “what if we all stop”, the real question is why, sometimes, does no one stop. Sickening.
While I agree with the argument about “what if we all stop”, the real question is why, sometimes, does no one stop. Sickening.
Thankfully, in over a 100 races with maybe 5-6 bike accident scenes, I have never seen that.
On the other hand, “why does no one stop” seems a rather illogical question to ask, as in if everyone really did not stop, then the person(s) reporting the accident didn’t stop either, and therefore would be rather hypocritical. But, if the person who makes the statement that they stopped because no one else stopped, well then, someone did stop.
Is there really, truly a case where no one else ever stopped and it was strictly left to EMTs or paramedics to come collect the down rider in a race?
I am #34 - doing well under the circumstances. First of all - thanks to everyone who stopped to ensure that I was okay and that I received the medical help I needed (Joe especially). I am very fortunate to say that I am just nursing some facial and upper body bruising and a concussion. The doctors said that my helmet saved my life and my brain and I believe that!
Besides dealing with the physical injuries I am trying to piece together the details of the crash and would ask anyone who heard anything or saw something to please contact me. As I sustained a concussion the only thing I recall is a dark/blue coloured SUV cross my line of vision before the crash and then waking up in an ambulance.
Before leaving Tupperlake on Sunday I stopped into the police station to provide a statement and it sounds like their report is about as detailed as mine, however, many of the officers “heard” things in the village but nothing is confirmed as fact. From what I was told, after making the turn in town, I was cut off by a moving vehicle and forced into the back of the parked car. Can anyone confirm this? It is difficult for me to understand how this could have happened as I have been riding for a number of years now and have never been distracted rider. It was too early for me to have been eating or drinking or anything else so I really have no explanation.
Thank you to all who stopped to help, for the warm wishes for a speedy recovery, for the great medical care at Saranac Lake Hospital and for the concern from the race director(s) who were kind enough to contact my family in Ottawa and on sight. Thank you also to the Tupper Lake police who were generous to give me a shoulder flash as my finishing medal…not the finish I was hoping for but certainly glad to be in as good shape as I am in today. If I can track down a new bike frame I hope to complete my first HIM soon (believe it or not my front wheel is not bent - it was forced back into the frame, which then buckled/tore at the weld between the top tube and the head set?)!
We can have this argument forever. I agree that everyone has valid points and I probably exaggerated a bit by saying EVERYONE should have stopped - that truly would have made matters worse. Also, as ML said, the most important thing is that she is OK and looking to race again. A happy ending to what was a pretty bad situation.
Glad that you are ok. The scariest parts of that bike course are right there in town and in cranberry lake. I went by what must have been soon after you went down. I think there was a police car there but no ambulance yet. I think that you were sitting up behind a small dark pickup with a cap on the back. Seems unlikely that you would have just hit the back of it and makes more sense that someone pulled out in front of you. Sorry that I can’t help more. Hope that you recover fast and good luck in the next race!