Thursday, April 08, 2010

bicyclist struck by car near Big Bear Cafe last night

See this 4/8/2010 message from a W Street NW resident:

A friend of mine was hit by a car last night at First, R and Florida Streets NW on his bike ride home from work (basically in front of Big Bear Cafe). The driver hit him on purpose...road rage we suppose. My friend did not provoke him. The driver left the scene, and witnesses got a partial plate number. Please ask our neighbors to keep their eyes peeled for a black 2000ish VW Jetta with a sport rack on top with a colorful sticker on the rack. Its a Maryland plate that begins with 9FF. Police said if they catch this guy he will probably be charged with vehicular assault due to his aggressiveness. Fortunately my friend only has few bumps, bruises and scratches, however his bike took the worst of it: back wheel is destroyed, frame may be bent, and the seat was demolished.

This is a HUGE reminder to 1) WEAR A HELMET 2) cars will always win 3) the most important thing is to get home, not who is right or wrong in a bike/car conflict!

5 comments:

Stu said...

We have been working with DDOT and the Mayor's office for the past couple of months to get a pedestrian light or a stop sign at that location and I will forward this post to make sure something is in place as quickly as possible.

I am sorry this happened. It is a very dangerous intersection and this is the 3rd person to be hit in 4 months.

We will do what we can so that it doesn't happen again.

-Stuart

Elise said...

I live on R. My husband and I were walking our dog by Big Bear when your friend got hit. We saw the immediate aftermath of that accident and saw the guy yell at your friend and then drive away. I checked with your friend that he was ok and he said he didn't need us to stay.... but if for some reason he needs a witness (someone who saw the driver act enraged and leave the scene) I would be willing to help out.
my email: leesiie@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Florida Avenue is a dangerous road for bikers, not only because of traffic, but also the potholes and the jerks. I have been on biking on that section of road a couple of times and yelled at for riding on the "street" and not on the sidewalk. If there was ever a street which needs a bike lane its Florida Ave. If you live in the North Cap corridor, Bloomingdale, Eckington, etc. its one of the only ways to get across to the NE side of the city!

Anonymous said...

Give local peds and bicyclists and motorists an alternative to the FL/NY Ave intersection: rebuild the T Street Bridge over the railroad tracks. It was there from the early 1900s to the late 1960s.

Anonymous said...

How do we get police to pursue the agressor in this situation?

It sounds like a deliberate act That could have killed the bicyclist but at very least wrecked his bicycle. The agressor should be found, made to pay financial retribution and suffer the consequences of his criminal act.