Sunday's News-Press has three
articles by feature writer Janine Zeitlin, telling the stories of three SWFL
cyclists seriously injured recently on our roadways. Be sure to also watch the
videos. Here's the third of three. Click here for the accompanying editorial.
Janine Zeitlin,
jzeitlin@news-press.com
Chuck
Kelly led a pack of dozens of cyclists pedaling north on Crayton Road through a
Naples neighborhood.
A
cloudy morning in late January, the temperature hovered below 70 degrees. The
57-year-old lawyer pulled at a fast clip, his strong thighs bringing the speed
to around 24 mph. The speed limit on this stretch is 30. He spotted a green
light and moved into the left-turn lane.
Kelly
was just about to turn when Mitch Norgart, a few riders behind, heard frantic
shouting from the rear of the group: Car back! Car back!
Norgart
heard acceleration and saw a white Dodge pickup next to him. It had crossed the
solid double-line into incoming traffic to pass the group. Then, in a second
that felt like five, the truck plowed toward Kelly.
His
head and shoulder smashed into the truck. Kelly yowled, like his life was being
torn out. His body then slid down the quarter-panel, ripping off the antenna
and mirror. He bounced to the passenger door and flipped. He landed, a limp
mass of bones, on the road.
He's dead,
Norgart thought. He had never seen those kind of blows, even in movies.
Norgart
rushed to Kelly. He checked his wrist for a pulse, surprised to find a racing
heartbeat. He and others set up a perimeter to protect him while riders
sprinted off to stop the driver. Many approached in tears. Norgart saw Kelly's
adult son drop to his knees near his father, pleading for him not to die.
Kelly
awoke dazed on the road. He remembered only starting to turn. At the hospital,
doctors shared their surprise at his survival. A shorter rider would have been
decapitated by the mirror, one told him. Instead, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound rider
ended up with at least 11 fractures to his ribs, a complex fracture to the scapula,
a pulmonary contusion, two broken vertebrae and a break to the collar bone.
"It's
hard to watch a big, strong sturdy guy in a pile of rubble," said his
wife, Tish Kelly, also a competitive rider. That day, she had finished the ride
with an earlier group and was waiting for him. "It's not just that bad
day. It's a lot of bad days afterward for a lot of people."
The
minor consequence for driver, Scott Hutton, infuriated her and many others. A
Naples police officer cited 34-year-old Hutton with improper passing. The crash
report and eyewitnesses indicated speeding along with the violation of at least
five other laws, said Ted Zelman, a Naples personal injury attorney and avid
cyclist who represents Kelly. Zelman believes the driver should have faced a criminal
charge of reckless driving, though he doesn't recall any local crash where an
unimpaired motorist who did not leave the scene has been charged criminally for
running over a cyclist.
The
punishment: a $170 fine. That evening, Patrick Ruff, then president of the
Naples Pathways Coalition, fired off a letter to the mayor and city council of
Naples. He was sick of heading out to exercise as people around him wondered if
he'd return.
At every angle of our county a person in a car can't stand a
person enjoying the day either on foot or on a bike. One or two athletes with
any level of colorful gear on is an immediate target for harassment by a
motorist, he wrote. This
incident must be a platform from which we, as leaders in the community, must
initiate a cultural shift and educate all in our community.
Naples
Pathways Coalition joined with Naples Velo cycling club, Naples Area
Triathletes and Gulf Coast Runners to launch a share-the-road campaign and
safety fair that attracted nearly 300 people.
"We've
just got to keep the momentum going," said Norgart, president of Gulf
Coast Runners.
Naples
police responded with increased enforcement and signage and embedded master
officer Buddy Bonollo in the weekly group ride during which Kelly was hit. He
promotes safety among cyclists and calls in motorists who are breaking laws.
"We're
absolutely horrible based on the statistics, and we have taken on the challenge
to do something about it," said Bonollo. "We hope other agencies grab
onto it."
On
a recent morning, Kelly and his wife chatted with other cyclists outside a
North Naples cafe after a ride. Kelly is determined to return to his pre-crash
condition. He had been clocking more than 200 miles a week. He eased into
riding about six weeks ago, but he can't walk more than 200 feet without pain.
He sees ample space for change.
"If
they keep with not punishing drivers for reckless behaviors, then the drivers
are going to continue to behave recklessly," he said. "Until they
make more stringent laws and enforce them, every cyclist, every pedestrian,
everybody outside of a caged vehicle is going to be at risk."
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Naples
riders who witnessed the crash involving Chuck Kelly thought he was dead
The
driver received a $170 fine, which infuriated riders and their supporters.
Kelly's
lawyer said the driver could have been charged with reckless driving.
The
crash became the impetus for a share-the-road campaign and more enforcement by
Naples police.
No comments:
Post a Comment
BikeWalkLee is not responsible for the validity of any comment posted at this site and has the right to remove any comment at any time.