MURRAY, Utah, Aug. 24, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A bicyclist is in critical condition Wednesday night after being hit by a car that did not stop.
Unified Police Department spokesman Lt. Bill Robertson said at approximately 7:45 p.m. a bike rider was riding eastbound on 3900 South at approximately 555 West, in Murray, when a vehicle also traveling east made contact with that rider and there was an accident.
“When officers arrived with medical personnel we had an approximately 60-year-old male who was in critical condition, with possibly some internal injuries, and a head injury,” Robertson said.
The bike rider was transported to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.
Because police don’t know exactly who was involved, they have called out their Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team (CART).
“They will come out, they will look at it, they will investigate it, and do the best they can to determine what exactly happened,” Robertson said. “We had no witnesses stop. We did have a couple of citizens stop and render aid.
“Any time you’re out riding a bike at dusk like this it’s imperative to wear helmets and to stay in your bike lanes and things like that, and obviously for drivers, please don’t use phones, or don’t be distracted.
“We don’t know what happened exactly here yet, but all those safety things come into play when you’re investigating something like this.”
Robertson said he was unsure in this case whether the rider was wearing a helmet.
The author makes mention the issues of helmet (he was wearing one), darkness (it was more than half an hour before the sun even set, much less getting dark) stay in a bike lane (not required by law and often very ill advised on that stretch and no indication the victim was not) through a quote of an officer responding to the scene.
Also, the word ‘accident’ has been removed from the AP style guide to describe these events.
It is very clear to your readership that neither the author nor the quoted officer has swung their leg over a bike since they were children. Their lack of understanding the risks faced and causation for injuries incurred by cyclists in Utah is very apparent.
Otherwise, great write up.