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so there we were leaving rite aid on Vermont and 3rd, candy cane in front me following. we arrive at the light south of 3rd and its our green i go behind the car and candy goes in front, thinking the car turning right will see us and stop. but it didn't! the car slams into candy knocking her to the ground and off her bike, i stop moving turn around and start yelling at he driver hitting my hands on the car and window. the driver freezes up and stops. by this time i was in front of the car while candy lay in the street holding her knee. Darwin(the driver), jumped out of the car in the most amazing blue and black sweater i think i have ever seen.<--(candy made me include that bit of info, for the record)
So the driver and I get her to the curb, check her for blood (none) and guts (none), and its becoming obvious that shes just badly bruised on her right leg. YAY she was wearing a helmet! she puts some weight on it and seems to be holding up okay. i grab her bike and u-lock and bring it to the side.
We're all really shaken up and nervous still, wondering if she's actually OK. Candy turns to the diver and gives him a hug, and they both start crying. It was really surreal.
Some bystanders are calling cops and ambulances, but this just freaks out candy, who doesnt have insurance, and just wants this to be over. So I turn to the driver, and i say, "can you at least give us a ride home?" he agrees.
I start taking the wheels off the bikes as quick as possible, hoping that we could get out of there before the authorities arrive on the scene. Too late, the sirens are blarring from the corner, coming closer. They paramedics get out of the car, and ask candy whats going on, she convinces them everything is fine, and that the driver who hit her sped off before she could see the car. They leave, the cops show up, she gives the same story, I back her on it, cops leave.
We all get our bikes, and ourselves into the car. We learn that our driver's name is Darwin, and that hes probably had the roughest year of his life, 2008 has not been kind to that man. We were all in a very vulnerable state after candy's brush with disaster, and the ride home was really emotional and sort of wonderful in a way.
Overall, the experience was positive, and Im glad we all walked away intact. even the bike was fine. can't say the same for the front end of Darwin's car, however. that shit was fucked.
the driver was really helpful and offered all kinds of help, other bystanders call 911 and the ambulance comes and we tell them that it was a hit and run by a car that sped off and that this gentleman(the guy who actually hit candy) saw the incident from across the street and stopped to help. then drove us back to DTLA. this could have been much worse then it was and thankfully the driver was a super nice guy and was really sweet and helped out a lot.
moral of the story: don't trust drivers, they don't see you most of the time and if you do get hit try to be cool cause you never know who you might
Sarah. Ice that shit up. Knee injuries are the worst. I'm glad everyone is okay. Every time I read about something like this, I get scared. Take really good care of that knee, and don't ride on it, please. It will take longer for it to heal if you don't properly take care of it. Much love.
I broke my knee-cap a couple years ago and I had no idea. I thought it was just bruised. You should at least ice it good and make sure its nothing more than a bang.
yeah seriously. keep it iced. otherwise its going to get bigger and more painful. Hopefully it isnt really a big bang. But even so, use that ice. Get some ice.. plastic bag. pretty easy.
WOW glad Sarah is ok. could have been worst. Put some ice in a plastic bag and ice it for 30 minutes. After that, put some gizz on it and that will numb it a bit.
OMG!
so glad you are ok! both of you! and darwin! sweater?!?!? (looks like its gonna make it?)
ICE PLZ! K THX!
the full story is amazing and one to remember for sure! the moment when candy and darwin hugged and cried im sure was intense.
when i had my door accident i remember being somewhat focused on letting everyone around me and the dude who had opened his door that i was ok. i almost made woo-woo-woooing motions towards him with my leg (since i was on the ground). i thought better of it and did not but kept telling him i was gonna be ok.
for sure ice and love and positivity.
EVERYONE STAY SAFE CUZ ISH GETS CRAZY AROUND THIS TIME.
SOOOOO MUCH LOVE!
There is nothing more tht I would wnat than to bust a mission to your house and take you some get better food. But I havent gone grocery shopping this whole week.
I believe I have some of my moms ibuprofin/vicodin/hydromorphine I could give you if you would want it.
oh woe is me. if it was some unknown the likes of rbi (the village idiot) would be the first with some insensitive comments about how he might some alias of some bored westsider. blah blah blah.
ur alright... get up and keep moving. and if the car stopped, get their info. wah wah wah.
Dammit shues, this is a great story. Not that Sarah getting whacked was good, but it brings humanity to our daily battle with cars, cops and a uncaring society. We do need to watch the cars, the people driving them are only human. They make mistakes. We bicyclists are human too. We make mistakes. The fact that Sarah is fine, except for some bruises, is a good lesson to all of us. We need to watch out.
It has been a tough year for a lot of people. This driver was not the evil monster we always envision are behind the wheels of these cars.
We do need to be careful, and we should endeavor to make friends rather than enemies of the people in cars. Many of whom are just trying to make ends meet and get through the day.
This is a great story for all of us on the verge of a New Year.
Let's keep our eyes and ears open and be aware. This driver should be applauded, and if we can win over one, we can win over more.
hai gaise!
thanks so much for the love and support
tonight was definitely one of those special pivotal life experiences that makes us stronger and wiser.
Ive learned a lot for this whole thing, and im really so glad it happened.
This was the first time i got hit by a car, and i can't help but feel like it was a buildup of bad karma/energy coming back around to me. Im not religious, but i have an unexplainable fascination/curiosity for spirituality. Theres a lot of atheists on MR, but i please ask you to hold judgment back from on this. Perhaps its mild perma-fry, or maybe its summer i worked at Thunderbolt Books in santamonica...
The whole event was so emotional and surreal. it was like a dream (head trauma? heh) The driver, his name was Darwin (i love the implications...) hit me right as i was passing by in the crosswalk (he was rolling out to make a right turn and watching traffic without watching for peds.
After the shock of being struck and knocked off my bike, i just layed there, and then this wave of panic and anger came over me. Here i was, completely in the RIGHT, when this asshole in the WRONG smacked right into me! Shues was serving as a crutch on my left side, helping me to the curb, when Darwin came over to help me on the right side, and I screamed at him to get the fuck away from me, and i actually grabbed his face and pushed him back towards the car.
Once on the curb, the anger subsided and i looked up at him, and i saw the empathy-laced-with-panic in his face, and instinctually i just went to him and hugged him, i felt like i let go of a lot that moment; crying in the arms of my antagonist, i ceased to be the protagonist. I let go of the idea of me being better than this person, or more righteous. I saw the situation for what it truly was: We were just two people standing on the same sidewalk; frightened, upset, and confused.
I can't help but feel like this was a fated event. I didnt even really think about anything logically the whole time, i was just sort of running on instincts and emotions, left brain went out the window.
[i decided to leave out my spiritual epiphanies about the whole thing, so that the trolls wont take it and rip it to shreds... unfortunate ]
Theres no doubt in my mind that Darwin will pay more attention to ped traffic, and i think that instead of a violent confrontation, this peaceful one made a bigger, more solid impact on him. I think peace can move mountains, and violence just destroys them.
On the ride home he opened up to us about the recent hardships in his life, and how '08 has been a complete nightmare, this being the cap on the whole thing. He was/is a total sweetheart, and the experience was profound and powerful for both of us.
damage:
golf ball in my right leg + minor scrapes here and there
some paint chipped off my helmet
untrue'd back wheel
^worth the wonderful life experience
oh, and PS... after we said our goodbyes, he smiled, waved, and said "hope to run into you guys again sometime..."
WOW.
Wild.
I am glad you are OK?
Geez, there is a lesson for you.
A kind attitude and a good sweater could be the difference between jacked up insurance rates, traffic violation, hassle with teh cops, an amicable drive with some friendly cyclists who are willing to lie on your behalf.
FYI....when the LAFD sends out an ambulance or medics there is no charge. You are only billed for a ride to the hospital, about $600. If you need that ride and are indigent, it is very easy to write a letter to LAFD and let them know your financial situation. LAFD will forgives the bill with just a letter. If she wanted to, she could of had the LAFD check her body out, if she wanted a ride they would have provided it for her, if she didn't want to be checked over, being conscious she could have refused any treatment.
Plus, if you get hit by a car and it's not your fault, THEIR insurance has to cover your ambulance/hospital/pain&suffering, etc., etc., and if you have car insurance, YOUR car insurance may cover it if the driver is not insured, as long as you have uninsured motorist coverage.
jesus fucking god the thread title gave me a damn heart attack.
glad to hear you're ok and that the experience was a benefit to both of you.
My dad has ingrained this into my brain since I was a little kid: "Every car on the road is out to kill you" ---Riding with that mentality really helps.
im glad sarah is ok! i dont agree with lying to the police/paramedics, but whatever.
i hate to derail this thread, but
oh woe is me. if it was some unknown the likes of rbi (the village idiot) would be the first with some insensitive comments about how he might some alias of some bored westsider. blah blah blah.
GodLovesUgly
12.31.08 - 4:39 am
i know that hiding behind a keyboard is new to you, and youre all full of adrenaline because youre under the impression that you "speaking your mind" or whatever, but maybe you should stop and think before you hit post reply. it might help you create a concise thought instead of a couple of sentence fragments.
Not trying to stir anything up, it sounds like Darwin is a great guy, but what if Candy Cane was injured in a way that is not yet apparent and needs special rehabilitation. I'm all in favor of being kind to people, and I'm sure Darwin was a great guy but worrying about avoiding hospital costs when its clearly the drivers fault - his insurance - if he had some - would have to pay for everything.
Its a heart warming story no doubt, but always get the drivers ID and insurance and never lie to the cops about what happened especially in this case where the driver even gets off scott free because of the lie.
He may have learned his lesson, but having his insurance go up because of a blunder will teach him a financial lesson, which is more effective.
I had a friend once get knocked down by a person getting into their car and not looking before walking into the bike lane. I think the guy did it on purpose but regardless, my friend had a bruise and it didn't seem like a big deal... she just wanted to go home. The guy apologized and all seemed well but days later my friend discover that her sore leg was actually a painful muscle tear which needed treatment. Since we never got the guys ID or called the cops, the only choice was to pay the doctor bills herself since she had no insurance.
Again, its a beautiful story and you guys are awesome, but consider the risks of not getting the insurance and ID of the driver at fault. At least get those pieces of info. Be kind and understanding but firm in getting that info and firm about getting yourself checked out for more serious injuries you may not know about right away.
I'm really glad to hear CandyCane is okay, and that the dude was really nice to you guys and everything... but aside from getting a heartwarming story out of this, it just seems like the wrong way to go about things. Like RB said, there could be injuries that don't reveal themselves until later, and by letting Darwin charm you guys and make a clean getaway after, you might have screwed yourself over.
It sounds like he really WAS a genuinely cool guy. And it does sound like CandyCane IS really okay. And I'm really happy about that. I'm just saying, hypothetically, this might be a dangerous way of handling the situation.
Ideally, I would say, everyone get health insurance... seriously. And don't make a false report to the authorities. It could backfire.
I too was super nervous opening this thread. Thank goodness you are okay. Wowowowow. You are so loved and looked after. If you need anything, pleasde dont hesitate to call, I can bwing you ice :)
@roadblock
your very right, now that i look back i think we might have been smart to grab darwins number and dl or something just incase it was something more serious then a bruise..
glad you're ok, candy cane
glad that dude wasn't an asshole too
keep icing that stuff
take ibuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory too
joint inflammation is self-propagating and leads to badness
candy cane this happend after i ran into yesterday i suppose because you were walking just fine @ the market or maybe u have some wolverine healing powers we dont know of. Glad ur ok..
Sarah! Glad to hear you're ok. Even better than that is what you experienced after the accident and sharing it with us. You show us how our initial reactions can get in the way of the reality...both of you standing on the sidewalk scared & confused...and how there is beauty in every experience. Thank you for that one. I hope your first collision is also your last. : )
I'm so sorry you got hit, but am so very glad you are okay. However I have to side with Roadblock and canadienne on this and say it is a really bad idea to lie to cover for a driver who hits you, no matter how nice they seem. Injuries don't always reveal them self at the scene of the incident and you need to legally protect your self should medical expenses become involved that you may not foresee at the time of the accident.
As an example, my girlfriend Meghan (user name Maulie), got side swiped by a car that turned into her to enter a driveway, a couple months before AIDS LifeCycle. She was adamant about getting all the driver info and insisted the police file a report even though they didn't want to. Police don't like to file reports, especially for cyclists, who are generally regarded as less important then drivers when it comes to filing these sort of things.
At the time it just seemed like nothing serious. She took a break from riding to work and training and when she resumed her knee hurt pretty bad especially on climbs. But as training went on it seemed to get better and didn't bother her at all just before ALC. However once we got a few days into solid riding the knee pain came back and hurt worse then ever, and she had to get sports medicine taping and physical therapy every day at camp and suffer on long days and big climbs. The medical staff at ALC were concerned the now long past accident may have caused a permanent tear, and so when she returned to LA she got an expensive medical test done to make sure she was okay, which was quite a deal more then her insurance covered. Luckily it was not permanent and would heal fully in time, but getting the test to make sure was the most expensive part of the ordeal.
So she hired a lawyer, who armed with the original police report was able to come to a settlement with the drivers insurance under threat of a law suit, and only just now is this being resolved many months later. The settlement covers all her medical expenses, the lawyer fees, a bike tune up, and a little extra. Had she not been adamant about reporting the accident in the first place, she would have not only been stuck with injury, but all the medical bills as well, even though the whole thing was the drivers fault entirely.
Protect yourself from drivers when accidents occur, you may not know how hurt you are until later. They may seem nice at first but there is no guarantee that they will be nice or willing to help if it turns out you have real medical issues later. The driver who hit Meghan sounded really nice and apologetic until she insisted for info and called the police, but then she turned nasty really quick and started making rude comments and changed her tone. A driver may be genuinely nice, or they may just be trying to cover their own ass to get out of having to serve any real repercussion for their actions. If you lie to the police to get a driver out of trouble, you are putting your self at risk to be taken advantage of and may have to pay expensive medical costs on your own.
First of all, its not my knee, its my thigh. I rode from dowtown to eagle rock last night, and back this morning and its fine. the bruise is awesome because it looks like an elongated version of the Trifid Nebula and in true (micro)cosmic nature, its slowly expanding day by day. :) Mikey wally has done worse damage to me and my bike in casual games of footdown.
Second of all, most of you are missing the point, horribly. I would have traded the beautiful, visceral, and tender experience i had if i had been an insurance-dollarsigns-in-my-eyes drama-queen about a bruise on my thigh, and filed a police report that asshole cops dont give a shit about + wasted 4 hours of my life and $800 on a ride to the hospital in an ambulance with paramedics that could have been utilized for someone who actually needed them.
and third: yeah ill probably get the divers info next time (hopefully there is no 'next time')
Getting insurance information and filing a police report has nothing to do with riding in an ambulance, you don't call an ambulance unless you need one. Meghan thought she was fine, she didn't ride an ambulance anywhere, but she still filed the incident. It's not about creating costs, it's about protecting your self should costs become necessary. It's great that this worked out, really, but I just don't want people to get the impression they will be so lucky as to have a euphoric moment with a stranger colliding into them. Cyclists get screwed over regularly and unless we protect our selves it will keep on happening.
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Ridazz Roulette!
Glad to hear that you came out of this horrific experience relatively unscathed, Sarah.
