Just the "Facts"

This is the view my son had on the day he was hit by a person driving a car while riding home from school. It's from google maps, but the sun weather was pretty great on the day of the crash too. We could pull up and measure distances to tell how far it is till you can start to see the cars cresting that hill. That spot would be inside a school zone, so 35mph. Where he was leaving the greenway through the park, it was 45. Another school zone is to the right, but he's not going that direction. He's headed for the bike way across the street. There's an access ramp on that spot and our house is over there.

On the day of the crash, a truck parked on the greenway exit. Maybe some kind of lawn maintenance crew, but the officer responding to the call didn't know what it was because it was moved before the police arrived.

My son says he put a foot down, waited for four cars to pass, and then crossed when he could barely see a car coming at the top of the hill to the left. He was in a big gear, so he was slow to start. The last thing he remembers before hitting the windshield was the sound of the car's horn.

A witness at the scene said the boy darted into the road. Based on that plus the truck that the officer didn't see, they didn't cite the driver. They couldn't ask my son what happened because he was writhing in pain on the pavement. He left in an ambulance.

The police officers didn't take any measurements or even try to estimate the driver's speed. It turns out that Raleigh Police Department only does that in the event of serious injury. My son suffered multiple breaks in his leg and shattered his shoulder. They reconstructed his injuries in surgery on Friday. He's been in inestimable pain and won't be able to return to school for the rest of this year. These were not serious enough injuries for the office to measure stopping distance or point of view.

I reached out to my community to implore local drivers to pay particular attention to pedestrian and bicycle traffic in this area, especially with the four elementary schools on the block. Even in that, some neighbors commented that it was my son's fault. He misjudged the traffic. To that, I wonder that the person driving the car, rather than take to another lane or stop, chose to honk.

People walking and people riding bikes need protection. People driving cars are given a responsibility to not hit other things, but this responsibility is failed over and over again. In an incident between a vehicle and a person not in a vehicle, the person is going to lose. In this case, my son nearly lost his life.

For all of the reasons, this crossing needs attention. Either it is a crossing, and it needs proper markings and indicators, OR it isn't a crossing and the access to the road on both sides needs to be removed. Please address this matter.

At the Hospital

Getting to the hospital, we surveyed what we might need inside and wished we hadn't just cleaned out the car. The pavement was hot in socks, and there was a sweaty musk in my bike shorts and gear. The phone call came right as the group ride back was starting on bike-to-work Monday. Cleats were tossed aside by the bike and all attention was set to getting to the hospital.

His dad arrived first and was with him in the imaging room getting a CT scan. Grandpa arrived next, hugging my other two children close and then saying a prayer while we waited. Finally, the doors opened and the ER nurse called our family back to the room.

My sweet baby boy writhed in agony. We all stared at him trying to decide who was in more shock, him or us. The only comfort I could provide was consent to treat. He swelled in pain and retreated under narcotic effect. The pain came in ripples and tidal waves.  He would pant or breath hold and we knew it was rough, but he was on top of it. Other times, he would lay back and disappear, floating just above himself, discovering savasana. 

Every move - ice chips, IV, pillow fluff - caused pain. A second scan for head and neck injury meant he had to keep the neck brace in place. This is really painful when your collarbone is shattered. Hours later, they splinted his leg, broken in three places, and sent us home.

Getting to the car was a 6-person effort. Every inch was a trick to see what was possibly mobile, since all of his injuries were to the one side. Eventually, we made it and he dozed off in the late night, never having eaten dinner or allowed to drink water. Getting to the house, he vomited all over his feet, the driveway, and me. 

He was broken apart, but alive.