Two bicyclists injured at Critical Mass
Posted By Thomas Bahde on August 29, 2009
The San Diego News Network is reporting that two Critical Mass riders were seriously injured after colliding with one another at the intersection of Centre Street and University Avenue in Hillcrest during last night’s event. One rider apparently suffered severe head injuries, while the other suffered rib and shoulder injuries.
While we typically take a dim view of bad behavior by riders during Critical Mass, there is no indication that this accident was caused by negligent or reckless behavior by either cyclist involved. However, SDNN reports as part of their story that Critical Mass rides “are sometimes raucous, with riders making noise and dressing in outlandish getups” as though this might explain the cause of the accident. This not only delegitimizes the original intent of Mass and shrugs off the seriousness of the injuries sustained by the riders, it contributes to the negative impression many San Diegans already have of bicyclists as a whole.
If you attended last night’s ride and witnessed the accident, or if you have any information about the condition of the two riders involved, please post it in the comments, or contact us.
Editor’s Update:
San Diego rider TJ wrote to us with an update on the Critical Mass accident. Here is what he wrote, “I caught up with my friend B at the tail end of the ride and he told me that a pedestrian tried to cross University in front of the bicyclist right in front on him and the two collided. He said that it was a cyclist running into a pedestrian. That being said, B likes to smoke the herb, but he swore he saw the whole thing happen right in front of him.”
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3 Responses to “Two bicyclists injured at Critical Mass”
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I saw these two guys – both were laid out…we thought they were pedestrians who got in a scuffle. Hopefully they’re OK. Otherwise, the ride was characterized by very calm, happy, and safe riding (at least from my position near the front).
One more thing: this quote is problematic: “Critical Mass was started by cyclists in San Francisco in 1992, presumably to draw attention to alternative modes of transportation that do not rely on fossil fuels.” Presumably? Who is doing the presuming, the journalist? The journalist’s job is not to presume, but to state what is known. Just delete the word “presumably” and the statement is true.
I saw my friend Brad at the tail end of the ride and he repeated to me several times that it occured right in front of him when I pedestrian decided to cross the street right in the path of the rider in front of Brad. According to him, it was a bicyclist and a pedestrian.