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http://www.startribune.com/local/west/56442382.html
Excelsior speech therapist hurt in bike collision dies:
Lisa Roden, of Excelsior, and another cyclist collided in a Bloomington bike trail tunnel. Her funeral is today.By VINCE TUSS and TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: August 31, 2009 - 11:07 PM
An Excelsior woman out biking with members of her book club collided with a passing cyclist and died Friday.
Lisa A. Roden, 50, was biking on a trail in Hyland Lake Park Reserve about 6:10 p.m. Thursday when she crashed with a man biking through a tunnel under E. Bush Lake Road at 86th Street, said Bloomington Police Cmdr. Dave Olmstead.
"The man was slowing down and announced his presence as he was going into the tunnel" and was coming out when they collided, Olmstead said.
The cyclists hit heads, and Roden's head struck the ground, Olmstead said, adding that both were wearing helmets and that no one was ticketed.
Roden was out with three members of a Christian women's book club, her husband, Dan, said. He got a call from one of them that his wife of 27 years was hurt and was asked what hospital she should go to.
Then he was told she was being taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. "I knew right away then that things weren't good," he said.
Lisa Roden was declared brain dead early Friday, her husband said, then kept on life support to donate her organs. But her blood pressure kept dropping and only her eyes could be used, going to help two people, Dan Roden said.
Olmstead said he wasn't aware of any serious accident or problems with the tunnel. But Mary Pfeffer, Roden's sister-in-law, said the family hopes to meet with Three Rivers Park District officials about the tunnel.
Roden was a speech therapist in the Minnetonka School District. For the past eight years, she worked at Scenic Heights Elementary School.
"She'd make connections with students that went way beyond what needed to happen as a school staff member," Principal Joe Wacker said. "She had one of those sincere, quiet demeanors and had quite a good way of telling parents what was going on and winning them over."
As a result of her close relationships with her students, Wacker said, school officials called the families of 20 students to tell them the news.
Her funeral is set for 10:30 a.m. today at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Excelsior.
I post these stories with the hope that people will read them and better understand the circumstances, thus helping to prevent such collisions in the future.
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How terrible. And both were wearing helmets, and it was a head-injury that caused death. Makes me seriously doubt my helmet does much good. How very sad for both families. The guy did all he could to prevent it and still this happens. Ugh, he'll probably take a while to get over this.
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Here is some video of the tunnel:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1419-Minneapo … ail-safety
The opening of the tunnel is surprisingly wide and straight, considering the collision history of that tunnel. Contrast that to the tunnel under Pleasant Valley Rd. immediately south of the Colorado River.
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