A woman was hit by a car while she was riding her bike under the Ballard Bridge yesterday. The bicyclist, Laura Vertatschitsch, says she was on the Burke-Gilman Trail’s “missing link” on Shilshole Ave NW when a car sped up to pass her, hit her handlebar, then sped off.
From Vertatschitsch:
…There is a spot where the bike lane moves out into the street in order to cross the railroad tracks at a right angle. A car was speeding up to pass me – I assume they wanted to do this before crossing under the Ballard Bridge, since there is a support column in the middle making it impossible for a car to move into the opposite lane to pass bikes. Needless to say, they hit me going fairly fast. I was unhurt, in fact it only hit my handlebar, but this could have been a very bad accident. The car sped off without stopping. Hopefully this doesn’t happen too often, but if it’s been a while it would be great to remind people that this danger spot exists and for bikers and cars alike to be careful!
