On Saturday, September 6th, a beautiful morning, I joined more than 50 other male and female cyclists from diverse backgrounds for a casual training ride for an upcoming event. As is typical for a group bike ride, there was a lot of enthusiasm and eager chatting from the riders as we set out. I felt great and was looking forward to the exercise and camaraderie of the event. Little did I know that 30 minutes later disaster would befall me and my life would be turned upside down.
For the first five miles of the ride, we experienced some early morning traffic but nothing unusual for Los Angeles. We maintained safe and responsible "driving," obeying all stop signs and traffic lights and being considerate to the motorists around us by staying within the bike lane (whether it was visibly marked or not). However, after we began our ascent up a road known as Pacific Coast Highway toward Topanga Canyon, things went downhill.
The leading cyclists had crossed the intersection at Temescal Canyon Road on the green light and the rest of us were following behind. At that point, I heard frantic yells of "CAR! CAR!" and shouts to move out of its way. I quickly assessed that the cyclists in front of me were braking and I started to do so as well. At this point, I realized that I needed to not only brake, but also make sure that I had room to move and not get caught in a pile up. It was chaotic as everyone in the front pack were braking quickly and the riders behind me were still moving and not braking fast enough.
All of this frantic activity was due to a car that had decided, impatiently, to bisect the entire pack of cyclists as we were going through the intersection at Temescal in order to make an illegal right turn. The cyclists closest to the car were forced to slam on their brakes or change direction. The rest of us in the back were required to put on the brakes as fast as possible to avoid collision. As the giant pack condensed almost immediately in an accordion-like fashion, in the chaos that occurred I got hemmed in and fell, and as I hit the ground, I shattered my right thigh bone.
Because I cried out at the intense pain, all of the riders turned to see who was hurt and, taking advantage of the lack of attention, the car responsible for the accident sped away.
Sadly, at this time, the police won't do anything because no one was able to get the license plate of the car responsible for the accident, which shattered my leg. Also, since the police failed to file a report within a 24-hour period, even though officers showed up at the scene after I had been taken to the hospital, no determination of fault can be made under California law. In talking with the Los Angeles County Bicycling Coalition, I have learned that this is, sadly, a very common scenario in L.A.
Since being discharged from the hospital I have paid for all my follow-up appointment co-pays and medications; however, the majority of my medical expenses, which are still to come, will be my portion of the ambulance ride, hospitalization expenses (emergency room/surgery/recovery stay), and physical therapy appointments. I am not able to make money to pay for these additional expenses because I am not able to work, and state disability is only covering about half of my normal salary. On top of all of this I will need to move…the real difficulty comes from the terrible timing of this accident and subsequent disability. As of September 15, I was supposed to transition to a new job in Irvine, a daily 2-3 hour round-trip commute from where I currently live. Because my bone is shattered I cannot drive, nor can my bone withstand the daily jostling of the potential commute, therefore I cannot work until I move. I am caught in a Catch-22: I am not able to work, so I cannot make money. In order to work again, I will need to move to Irvine, but because I am not getting paid enough, I can’t!
Most people unfamiliar with the world of scientific research would be surprised to learn that young scientific researchers like myself are poorly compensated (in fact, for many years I lived on a wage only a couple thousand dollars above the national poverty line). So while I was managing to make do previously, this injury and the impending relocation are currently beyond my means. Because of these overwhelming financial challenges that I am facing, I am reaching out through Go Fund Me to ask to raise money for my remaining medical expenses, moving to Irvine and some small assistance with daily living costs for the next two months.
Medical expenses are approximately $1000.
Moving expenses are: $800 first month’s rent, $800 deposit, and approximate $600 packing/moving costs, approximately $2200.
Living expenses I want to just ask a little, because I know money is tight for everyone, $600.
For the first five miles of the ride, we experienced some early morning traffic but nothing unusual for Los Angeles. We maintained safe and responsible "driving," obeying all stop signs and traffic lights and being considerate to the motorists around us by staying within the bike lane (whether it was visibly marked or not). However, after we began our ascent up a road known as Pacific Coast Highway toward Topanga Canyon, things went downhill.
The leading cyclists had crossed the intersection at Temescal Canyon Road on the green light and the rest of us were following behind. At that point, I heard frantic yells of "CAR! CAR!" and shouts to move out of its way. I quickly assessed that the cyclists in front of me were braking and I started to do so as well. At this point, I realized that I needed to not only brake, but also make sure that I had room to move and not get caught in a pile up. It was chaotic as everyone in the front pack were braking quickly and the riders behind me were still moving and not braking fast enough.
All of this frantic activity was due to a car that had decided, impatiently, to bisect the entire pack of cyclists as we were going through the intersection at Temescal in order to make an illegal right turn. The cyclists closest to the car were forced to slam on their brakes or change direction. The rest of us in the back were required to put on the brakes as fast as possible to avoid collision. As the giant pack condensed almost immediately in an accordion-like fashion, in the chaos that occurred I got hemmed in and fell, and as I hit the ground, I shattered my right thigh bone.
Because I cried out at the intense pain, all of the riders turned to see who was hurt and, taking advantage of the lack of attention, the car responsible for the accident sped away.
Sadly, at this time, the police won't do anything because no one was able to get the license plate of the car responsible for the accident, which shattered my leg. Also, since the police failed to file a report within a 24-hour period, even though officers showed up at the scene after I had been taken to the hospital, no determination of fault can be made under California law. In talking with the Los Angeles County Bicycling Coalition, I have learned that this is, sadly, a very common scenario in L.A.
Since being discharged from the hospital I have paid for all my follow-up appointment co-pays and medications; however, the majority of my medical expenses, which are still to come, will be my portion of the ambulance ride, hospitalization expenses (emergency room/surgery/recovery stay), and physical therapy appointments. I am not able to make money to pay for these additional expenses because I am not able to work, and state disability is only covering about half of my normal salary. On top of all of this I will need to move…the real difficulty comes from the terrible timing of this accident and subsequent disability. As of September 15, I was supposed to transition to a new job in Irvine, a daily 2-3 hour round-trip commute from where I currently live. Because my bone is shattered I cannot drive, nor can my bone withstand the daily jostling of the potential commute, therefore I cannot work until I move. I am caught in a Catch-22: I am not able to work, so I cannot make money. In order to work again, I will need to move to Irvine, but because I am not getting paid enough, I can’t!
Most people unfamiliar with the world of scientific research would be surprised to learn that young scientific researchers like myself are poorly compensated (in fact, for many years I lived on a wage only a couple thousand dollars above the national poverty line). So while I was managing to make do previously, this injury and the impending relocation are currently beyond my means. Because of these overwhelming financial challenges that I am facing, I am reaching out through Go Fund Me to ask to raise money for my remaining medical expenses, moving to Irvine and some small assistance with daily living costs for the next two months.
Medical expenses are approximately $1000.
Moving expenses are: $800 first month’s rent, $800 deposit, and approximate $600 packing/moving costs, approximately $2200.
Living expenses I want to just ask a little, because I know money is tight for everyone, $600.