Two cyclists injured in separate accidents

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Updated: It was a dangerous day on Tuesday for bicyclists in Ballard. At 4:30 p.m., a woman and minivan collided on Market St. near 19th Ave. My Ballard reader Angelatini posted the story in the forum, and we received an email from the woman’s friend, Kyla. “She’s OK,” she writes. “She suffered only a sprained ankle and some minor contusions. She’ll be on crutches for a week or two.”

Then at 11:30 p.m., a cyclist and car collided at 15th and 51st. The news was posted in the forum, and My Ballard reader Harry sent us this photo. The bicyclist, who was wearing a helmet, did not appear to be serious injured. (Thanks everyone for your forum posts, email and photos!)

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

33 thoughts to “Two cyclists injured in separate accidents”

  1. We need a safe bike path through Ballard now, too bad the Ballard chamber of commerce and others are trying to delay as much as possible.

  2. Agreed, however, this isn't the path as proposed.
    I came upon the accident on my way from the bank to Ballard Blossom.
    I didn't see a bike, but the impact area, based on where the responders were gathered around, was in the cross walk zone. It was right in front of the east exit of All The Best.
    That was driver AND biker error, there is no signal there.
    We have to anticipate cars not seeing us.

  5. I can't wait for the days when yaks are running in our streets along with those people-pulled carts, like in use everywhere in Asia. Let's pack in a gazillion more people, a fraction of them cyclists, and take away more lanes for traffic, do nothing to improve flow, add bike lanes, add red-light-cameras, and expect utopia. WTF type of plan is this? Sustainable? Hardly. What, are we going to have a special cemetery for bikers soon? Time to make license plates mandatory to raise $$ for a remedy. That, or simply ban the vehicle.

  7. Wow, what an incredibly racist comment! Have you ever been to Asia? Apparently not.

    I suppose instead we should have bumper to bumper cars stuck in eternal gridlock. That would be MUCH better. Yeah, you're a real genius.

    BTW, how do you plan to improve traffic flow? Whose house do you want to knock down to add more lanes?

    Finally, cars pay licensing fees because of all the damage they do that bikes don't. Bikes don't cause enormous wear and tear on the roads. Bikes don't kill 40,000 people and year and injure hundreds of thousands more resulting in billions of dollars in medical expenses. Bikes don't pollute the air. As it is today cars still don't come even close to paying for all the damage they cause. Seriously, your ignorance is astounding.

  8. It must be people recoving from hemp fest. Some woman in her early twenties (without a helmet), took a right turn off 24th at about 25mph and because of her speed had to do a huge arc that went into the oncoming lane…right where me and my car were driving. Luckily I was paying attention and slammed on the brakes before she seriously injured herself. Please, please, please, bike riders, pay attention and ride responsibly. And wear a GD helmet!

  10. Sit & spin Mickey! There needs to be a safe way through Ballard and right now there really isn't one. I am taking extra room these days since there is such animosity towards cyclists. You will all just have to be patient and wait.

    All riders should ride as if : a) drivers are ignorant of cyclists and the traffic laws concerning cyclists, b) drivers are multi-tasking or c) drivers are “old ballard” types who cannot conceive of sharing the road or having to wait a moment to pass.

  11. Chopper is right; the accident occurred in the crosswalk.

    Car was making a left turn, cyclist was riding east of All the Best from the sidewalk to the crosswalk.

    Am glad to read she is doing OK.

  14. i heard the terrible sound of the 11:3opm crash (the biker's yell + the crunch of the car hitting the bike)….. i am so glad he was wearing a helmet. it makes me so nervous and upset to hear about these accidents, especially as i am a “beginner bicyclist” still getting used to riding with traffic around ballard. :(

  15. I was doing errands on my bike on 15th yesterday (with stops from 85th down to TJ's, so 15th was my best bet) and a guy in a van opened his door in front of me. He had just enough time to squeeze a bit flatter (and say sorry), but I didn't know if I'd be safe moving left.

    More bike lanes are definitely needed if we're going to get people out of cars. How complicated is that equation?

  16. Sit & spin yourself. Apparently you don't comprehend English.

    Read it slowly this time:

    The…accident…on…15th… had… nothing… to… do…with… aresident's… johnny-one-note…bitching…and…moaning… about…the… Ballard…Chamber…of…Commerce.

    Got it?

  18. I've actually read research that says bicyclists are less likely to be in an accident while not wearing a helmet because drivers give them more space…Regardless, I'd probably still wear a helmet.

  19. Glad to hear all will be alright.
    1. Wear your helmet.
    2. Make eye contact.
    3. Obey the rules of the road.
    4. And remember cars and SUVs are bigger and go faster and require more time to stop and will ALWAYS come out better in a wreck.

  20. “too bad the Ballard chamber of commerce”

    Ok, maybe… but if the Ballard Chamber gets a judgement in their favor, would you come back and modify this thought?

  21. Ain't gonna happen.
    Distances between home, work, family, friends, and other points have increased.
    The number of trips/day/family has, and will continue to, increase.
    Hours per day has remained constant.

    I love to bike, like most drivers.
    I find bikers annoying on the roads at best, like most drivers.
    Why? Because they do not follow some of all of the four points listed below on a regular basis.

  22. I drive and bike both. I see more drivers doing stupid things than bikers. The biker is less likely to since he/she is much more vulnerable. I find most drivers in Washington to be annoying. (FWIW, I learned to drive in NYC where people actually know how to drive.)

    Bikes are great for a lot of in-city activities and should be encouraged. They also promote health and should be encouraged. Bikes do not create carbon emissions and should be encouraged. etc, etc.

    Bicycles are given short shrift by our infrastructure so sometimes we may have to bend a rule to get by. So be it. As long as we fail to provide for bikes, bikes will push the envelope to make it work.

  23. I've spent a lot of time in Japan and from my observation, bike use is about 10 times what it is here, yet the bike accident rate is a fraction of here. Maybe it has something to do with the attitude that US drivers believe the road is theirs and everyone, cars included, are just in their way?

  24. I ride my bike under the assumption that every other driver is a psychotic newspaper commenter out to kill me if they're given half the chance.

  25. You can boil it down to the League of American Bicyclists Education motto:
    Bicyclists fare best when they act as, and are treated as, drivers of a vehicle.

    That said, a bicycle can turn sharper than a SUV and a SUV can stop much quicker than a bicycle can, so there are different abilities for each vehicle.

  27. Yep, that's been my experience in Japan, the ROK, Thailand and Cambodia.

    BTW, worth pointing out that more of those ox cart driving Asians are able to enjoy high speed wireless service (something which doesn't even exist in Seattle), high speed trains (again something “advanced” Americans are too stupid to build), superior and cheaper healthcare and China now has a manned spacecraft (something the USA will soon be lacking).

    sdrake1958, you truly are one stupid, ignorant racist.

  28. You must be dizzy from all that spinning. Apparently you do not understand that if the NIMBY Ballard Chamber had not filed suit, ground could already have been broken on the trail. The Chamber is too worried about ruining the crappy streets (Shilshole) of ” Old Ballard”.

  29. Damn. As a newbie to these comments, I'm glad to know that I better not ever say “comment removed”.
    Oh wait…I get it now.

    well, yes, I hope to be riding on these streets soon enough with a pretty new bike. I will assume that every driver wants to scuff it up a bit and ride accordingly.

  30. I once held (as in 'gently restrained') the bleeding head of a crashed rider who was restlessly regaining consciousness–I was worried about spine injuries. Nope, she wasn't wearing a helmet. No car involved though: her shoulder bag collided with her front tire. flipped her right over. I was about 20 meters behind her on my own bike. scary.

    Let's just say I don't go without a helmet when riding…not since seeing that!

  31. Cycling in Seattle is actually pretty easy and pretty safe compared to most other parts of the country.

    My one bit of advice: don't take the same routes you'd take in a car. Remember that in a car your speed is limited by speed limits. On a bike in most cases the only limit is how fast you can pedal. Unless your last name is Boonen or Hincapie you'll have a hard time riding at 30mph. This means small side streets that are slow for a car are often faster for a cyclist (no traffic lights/stop signs). They also have a lot fewer cars to worry about.

  32. Hello,
    Where could anyone on a bike be doing 25 mph and turning right off 24th?
    I am a regular bicyclist inBallard and I know that to do 25mph is rare, especialy in a right hand turn? Maybe 10 or 12 mph at the most. 25 mph on a bike is quite fast. Have you been on a bicycle at that speed?
    And I agree, wear a helmet.
    And obey the laws.

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