A 18-year-old man suffered internal injuries after being hit by a car while traveling on his bicycle in Layton, Utah. According to Layton police and the Salt Lake Tribune, the driver of the SUV that hit the bicyclist apparently ran a red light. This Utah bicycle accident happened on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at around 9 a.m near 500 North Main Street. A 31-year-old woman was driving an SUV southbound and continued through the intersection as her light turned red and east/west signals turned green. A semi truck initially pulled into the intersection when they saw the green light but stopped when they saw the SUV was not stopping. The SUV passed in front of the semi and hit the bicyclist as he entered the crosswalk.
I wish this young man the very best as he recovers from these serious injuries.
It appears blame lies with this woman who ran the red light. I wonder if she was talking on her phone or texting? I imagine authorities will look into her phone logs to see her activity at the time of the accident. The report mentions nothing of drugs or alcohol which could have also played a role in this accident.
Utah Bicycle Accident Statistics
In 2008, 716 bicyclists were killed and an additional 52,000 were injured in traffic crashes. This represents 2% of all the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. Alcohol involvement -either for the driver of the vehicle or the bicyclist- played a role in 37% of the bicycle-related fatalities. In 31% of these crashes, the driver of the bicyclist had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 9g/dL) or higher. In 2008, Utah had 4 bicycle fatalities.
Ron Kramer is a Utah bicycle accident attorney who helps the injure receive compensation for lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering.