Cyclist Speaks Out After Being Hit by Truck

Fri October 02 2009
Posted Oct 1, 2009
8,553

Cedar Rapids, IA By Claire Kellett, Anchor/Reporter & Daren Sukhram Oct 1, 2009 He's out of the hospital and back at work, but an injured bicyclist from Marion is certainly not back to normal following a frightening hit and run. Most bicyclists will tell you they've experienced a close call or two riding on the road. Unfortunately for some, like one Marion man, a close call turns into actual contact with a vehicle. Two weeks ago, a truck hit Joey Richey, 27, as he road his bike along County Home Road near Whittier around 6:30 at night. The Linn County Sheriffs Office is still searching for a white pick-up truck it believes hit him. For the first time, Joey is talking about the hit and run he survived and how such a situation can be avoided. After a routine ride on a county road, both Joey Richey and his bicycle required repair work. "I would say Joey took almost all of it. The bike took almost nothing," said Keith Kenel of Northtowne Cycling and Fitness. His bike needed a new seat and some wheel work. Joey needed two and a half days in the hospital. His broken shoulder blade is still healing. "Then stitches in the left knee, one in the back of my head, and my lower back is pretty bruised up," Richey said. Wearing a helmet, Joey was riding with traffic when a white pick-up truck, likely its side mirror, hit him from behind. "It pushed me off into the ditch, and I crashed there," Joey explained. Witnesses rushed to help Joey, but the truck's driver continued down County Home Road. "I'm hoping at least the driver didn't realize something happened and wouldn't just leave someone with an unknown condition in the ditch," said Richey. Joey's story shocked his bike's doctors at Northtowne Cycling and Fitness in Cedar Rapids "Hit and runs, I would say are very rare. We certainly have people bringing in bikes involved in collisions," said Kenel. Workers there say injuries and deaths can easily be avoided if drivers do one simple thing. "Treat the person on the bicycle as if they were a family member," said Kenel. Of course cyclists have responsibilities too, like obeying the rules of the road, wearing reflective gear at night, and keeping an eye on nearby cars. "If I had a close call and people say well, you had the right of way, I don't want on my tombstone it to say "I had the right of way,""said Kenel. Unfortunately doing the right thing has Joey bruised and broken. For safety's sake, he's simply asking all drivers and cyclists to mind their manners and share the road. Just this past August, a similar accident killed a cyclist in Warren County. 54 year-old Mark Grgurich died when a car hit him as he rode his bicycle on a county road. 80 year-old Paul McKinney of Madison County is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.