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http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ … sport.html
Two cyclists injured on Parmer Lane
By Mark Lisheron | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 12:05 PMUPDATE:
The Texas Department of Public Safety is asking for witnesses to help with the investigation into a collision this morning that injured a Cedar Park couple, one of them critically, while they were riding a two person bicycle
Angie Hughes, 31, was in critical condition this afternoon at University Medical Center at Brackenridge, according to DPS spokesman Lisa Block. Samuel Hughes, 47, Hughes' husband, was in fair condition at Brackenridge.
Susan Madson, 54, of Cedar Park, the driver of a 2005 Dodge Stratus that collided with the bicycle, was not hurt, Block said.
The Dodge Stratus and the bicycle were southbound on Parmer Lane at Dallas Drive at 5:50 a.m. when the collision occurred, Block said. Accident investigators are trying to determine what might have caused the crash
No charges have been filed in connection with the collision, Block said.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/will … armer_lane
Driver hits two cyclists on Parmer Lane
No details concerning cyclists' conditionsUpdated: Tuesday, 03 Nov 2009, 11:16 AM CST
Published : Tuesday, 03 Nov 2009, 8:07 AM CSTWILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - A couple of lanes on West Parmer Lane were shut down just north of McNeil Road Tuesday morning after two cyclists were hit, according to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office .
Williamson County Detective John Foster said a driver hit the two cyclists around 6 a.m. close to the intersection of Dallas and Parmer at the 7000 block of West Parmer Lane . Texas Department of Public Safety officials said 54-year-old Susan Madson, who was driving a Dodge Stratus, struck the bicyclists.
The cyclists were husband and wife Samuel and Angie Hughes. Samuel is in fair condition. Angie is in critical condition at Brackenridge Medical Center.
Please feel free to reply here with news updates.
UPDATE(S):
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/will … armer_lane
Last edited by tomwald (2009-11-03 17:07:08)
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Yo, I just saw that one of the cyclists has a letter discussing the collision over on One Les Car.
http://onelescar.blogspot.com/2009/11/a … armer.html
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I have been looking for an Austin Bike blog and finally ran across this and low and behold here is our article!!! Here is an update staight from the victim.
It was 9 weeks ago today Angi and I woke up in the ER at Brackenridge and the progress she has made is amazing. First of all it is a miracle that either of us are alive, but especially her, she came very close to bleeding to death due to a massive cut on the back of her left leg. Then the second mriacle is that she is not paralyzed and has lost no use of any fingers, toes, arms or legs.
Her broken neck, which they had to fuse 2 vertebrae toghter, is healing perfectly and was transferred from the hard collar to a soft callor just yesterday,and she is extatic. The compression fractures in her back will just have to heal on their own and the cut on her leg is nearly healed.
I was ery lucky in receiving only broken ribs, major bruising and a split open scalp. I flew over the car with the bike, where as Angi went directly into the car's windshield and then bounced off over they guard rail
This Friday we will joyfully be celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary, I am sorry to say the report of her being 31 is incorrect. She did like the thought of being 31 and I liked the thought of having a 31 year old wife!!!! :) I am not that much of a stud. :)
Much to the dismay of many people we come in contact with, we will be back on a tandem hopefully in May or June, or soon as her neck and back will allow.
Thanks to all for any thoguhts or prayers that were said for us, I know they helped. We were spared for a reason and we are looking and watching for that reason so we can make a difference somewhere.
WEAR YOUR HELMETS, THEY SAVED US FOR SURE.
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One other note on the cause of the accident. 2005 Dodge Stratos driving on the shoulder!!!!!!! We had 2 sets of flashing lights on our backs and a working and approved head light, reflective clothing and were closer to the right edge of the shoulder than the left edge and over there minding our own business going to work!!!!
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Glad to hear you two are healing up ...
What happened to the guy who hit you two? I imagine you two probably maxed out his insurance within a day -- what's happening with your medical bills beyond that?
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She got a ticket for driving on the shoulder. Big whooop!!!
Luckily we have good health insurance because she has state minimum liability insurance!!!! Most importantly though we didn't have to use our life insurance on one or both of us, so having my wife here still is worth paying our deductables and max out of pocket for a couple years.
We did get a property settlement though to get a new tandem and all the stuff we had with us on the bike for work.
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You have no idea if the helmets actually saved your life - just like how when I rode down to New Braunfels shirtless years ago and ended up doing a Superman over the handlebars, ripping off much of my chest hair in the process, I actually can't claim that my chest hair saved my life. Both claims are completely unsupported unless you can repeat the same exact collision with a control group that (isn't wearing helmet) or (doesn't have hairy chest), and do it enough times to be statistically valid.
If helmets worked anywhere near as well as theorized, on the other hand, we'd have seen a major drop in cycling head injuries and deaths as the usage of helmets has risen across the entire population (numbers large enough to draw some conclusions, unlike our anectdotes). Unfortunately, in the US as in every other country, such a trend is actually not possible to detect.
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Fine, I don't know that they saved our lives, but I will live in a bubble and think they did and it makes me feel better about the $80 I spent on them. But I will continue to wear mine even with no clincal or statistcal proof that they did. We are alive and that is all that really matters.
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ParmerSurvivor, thank you very much for sharing your story with all of us. I'm very happy to hear that you both survived this, and I'm impressed that you intend to keep riding. I'm sorry to say that I'm not surprised that the driver got only a slap on the wrist for nearly killing you. That's par for the course, I'm afraid, not just in Austin, but everywhere in the U.S. The phenomenon is so common there's actually been some study of it.
Please don't be put off by some of the comments you may see in the forums. This is supposed to be a place for friendly dialogue, but unfortunately sometimes it's not so friendly. Don't take it personally, and I do hope you'll stick around and participate.
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How's that old saying go? Something like, "If you want to legally kill somebody in Texas, make sure they're riding a bicycle when you do it"......
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Michael,
Thanks for the encouragement. I plan to stick around now that I have found this forum. I have looked several times over the past few years for a biking forum and it is nice to have found one for our community.
I have ridden on Parmer many, many, many times over the last 11+ years without incident and even though it is a very busy rode I have never felt 'unsafe' or 'at risk' becasue if I had I would never have put my wife out there in harms way. She even felt 'safe' and was enjoying riding to work a few days a week. We had just ridden 40 miles in the Outlaw ride the week before, a new record for her, and she wasn't even tired. Oh well we will be back in shape again in a few months, hopefully she will be able to ride again in May or June.
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The wife went back to work a week ago today. SHe is extatic to be back out in the real world and not having to wear her neck brace/collar any more. She is working on getting her range of motion back in her neck and her leg still has not fully healed, but she is getting there.
Still no driving either.
Thanks everyone for you thoughts and prayers!!!!
Last edited by ParmerSurvivor (2010-02-08 17:30:32)
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