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Police Investigating Bicyclist Accident Near Westover

by Katie Pyzyk | August 28, 2012 at 3:17 pm | 5,055 views | 163 Comments

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Police are investigating an unusual accident near Westover involving a bicyclist.

Initial reports said the cyclist was unconscious when police arrived, after being struck by a vehicle that left the scene. However, a police spokesman now says there might not have been a vehicle involved at all.

Police believe the cyclist may have suffered some sort of medical emergency and then fell onto the road, unconscious. However, the investigation is still ongoing and details are still coming in.

A tipster said the cyclist was transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital.

Earlier, Patrick Henry Drive was closed between 9th Road North and 11th Street North, and 10th Street North was blocked off where the accident occurred. All roads have been reopened.

There’s no word so far on the cyclist’s condition or the nature of the possible medical emergency.

billj

What a coward. I hope whoever hit this cyclist comes forward or someone gives information that leads to their arrest!
- newty25
  
  Another newsflash… Virginia Hospital is about a mile from there.
  - NoVA RN
    
    Newsflash: VHC isn’t a trauma center, and may not have been equipped to deal with the cyclist’s medical issues. Instead of wasting time transporting him/her to VHC, and then transferring to Inova, the paramedics likely decided to transport him/her to a place with more specialized services.
    - porkchop_milkshake
      
      I was also wondering why he wasn’t transported to VHC. How do they decide?
      - Loocy
        
        Unfortunately, that probably means a head injury.
      - drax
        
        Which may mean no helmet.
        
        If he had worn one (assuming he didn’t), he might have ridden his bike home instead.
      - Josh S
        
        Wow, that’s how many “maybes” and other speculations in a row?
        
        ARLNow commenters, doing what they do best – unfounded speculation / jumping to conclusions!!
        
        Next, the professional police critics and armchair crime scene analysts will educate us on what happened / should have happended.
      - R0bespierre
        
        Yeah, and passing out and falling off your bike is about the only time the helmet WILL help you, good luck with that helmet if you hit a car or another cyclist head on at 20mph.
      - drax
        
        I acknowledged that they were speculation though. I didn’t just say they were true. Think about it.
      - drax
        
        Uh, yeah, a helmet can help you in a collision. It’s lunacy to think it wouldn’t. I know people who would be dead or vegetables if they hadn’t worn one.
      - NoVA RN
        
        Loocy is partly right, but a lot goes into deciding what makes a patient a “trauma” so to speak, and what doesn’t.
        
        I don’t work in Northern Virginia (even though I live here) and I’m not a trauma nurse, but what happens in triage and trauma tends to be standard. If responders initially thought the victim was struck by a vehicle, he would’ve automatically been taken to Fairfax for a trauma work-up. If he was unconscious upon responders’ arrival and they were able to somehow determine that he likely wasn’t struck by a vehicle, I’d guess that he/she had some sort of cardiac episode if it wasn’t a neurologic issue/head injury (in which case, the victim would definitely go to Fairfax, their services are much more expansive than VHC’s).
      - Nooner
        
        Protocol mixed with judgment dictate transport decisions. Patients are assessed and the results of the assessment mixed with the mechanism of injury help medics decide. I worked for another county in NOVA but, most any significant traumatic accident would lead to a transport to INOVA Fairfax. There also are given criteria in some local protocols (e.g. fall from greater than 6 ft, vehicle crash with entrapment or rollover, etc.). The purpose of all of this is to transport the patient to definitive care and VHC is not that for trauma patients.
louise

Fyi that’s not westover–it’s Dominion Hills.
- Arlington, Northside
  
  It is the line between the two neighborhoods.
  - Louise
    
    No, the line is Four Mile Run. This happened about 200 feet sw of the creek.
Doh

And let’s all moronically conjecture about who was at fault based on the two photos. I’ll start: Obviously it’s aliens.
MC 703

Agreed. Coward. Probably suspended license or something insignificant that will be made a whole lot worse by running.
- New Canaan
  
  Suspended license….or *gasp* no license or insurance. I wonder what kind of person would do that???
DarkHeart

I witnessed a wreck just up the street in front of the Upton entrance. EB Car A had just stopped as the light turned to red. Car B didn’t seem to recognize that Car A had stopped or attempt to swerve around to beat the light. A few concerned citizens checked on the occupants and notified the constabulary.
- Double-U_T_F
  
  Relevance?
  - DarkHeart
    
    Patrick Henry is a dangerous stretch of road? It seems like every other yard between the bridge and Wilson has one of those turtle kids signs. Also, ACPD deployed a portable “Your speed is X” there recently.
    - JamesE
      
      gotta go for the high score on those, they break when you hit triple digits.
    - Double-U_T_F
      
      In other words, “I think this stretch of road is extremely dangerous. The following anecdote is not pertinent to the cyclist story, but demonstrates why I think that…”
      
      Just needed the context, that’s all.
      - Jimbo
        
        Just having a conversation, that’s all.
      - Greg
        
        Unfortunately most people on here only know argument and witty quips. You’ll have more of a conversation with a 2 year old than on here.
    - Arlington, Northside
      
      That was April or May when the speed sign was up. Too many folks think that section of Patrick Henry Drive is a 45 mph zone due to the median and the very wide bridge over I-66, when really it is a residential zone and 25mph. Lots of kids are in the neighborhood, there but for the grace of God we have not had a kid hurt lately. SLOW DOWN in the neighborhoods people!
      - Double-U_T_F
        
        Keep the kids off the road and they won’t even need to enter the discussion.
      - Jack Tors
        
        Keep you off the roads so these things don’t happen
      - drax
        
        Wait until they’re all walking a mile to school next week!
      - Westover
        
        “Keep the kids off the road”? Are you freaking kidding! It is a RESIDENTIAL STREET! The speed limit is 25mph, a speed at which anyone can stop on the proverbial Dime. Families should not have to worry that much about their kids, just so that some can use the road as a 45mph cut through.
      - Double-U_T_F
        
        I agree that families shouldn’t be so paranoid about their kids. That was my point. The “what about the kids?!” argument gets tired. Teach them not to run around in the street and everyone should be able to relax.
      - Westover
        
        Sorry, not going to relax when folks are driving on a RESIDENTIAL street as if it is Rt 50 or Lee Highway. It is a neighborhood, not a business district or rural highway. Respect the families, and respect the home owners.
      - Double-U_T_F
        
        You should encourage your children and the other kids in your neighborhood not to play in the street. If motorists respect the law and kids at play respect the roads, everyone’s happy. You seem to be placing responsibility solely on the motorists to respect the law (which I agree they should do), but not acknowledging that pedestrians and “families” shouldn’t be stupid. I’m emphasizing the part your bias is glossing over.
      - Quoth the Raven
        
        Double U T F – I mean no offense, but I would bet that you don’t have kids. Because if you did, you would know that you could tell them to stay out of the street until you’re blue in the face, yet they still could end up in the street chasing a ball or a cat or merely crossing to a friend’s house. In residential areas, motorists do have the responsibility to drive responsibly, obey the speed limit, and try not to run over any kids.
      - Double-U_T_F
        
        Whether I have children is irrelevant to whether kids should be playing in the street. And I was once a kid, so whether or not I have any, I know what it’s like to be a responsible one. I also know what it’s like to be a responsible driver.
        
        I don’t absolve pedestrians or drivers for being unaccountable idiots.
      - Quoth the Raven
        
        You’re right – that darned 7 year olds are so irresponsible!!
      - Double-U_T_F
        
        Not all of them, QTR! Some are well-behaved.
      - drax
        
        What about when kids need to cross the street?
      - CW
        
        Arent you the guy who posts that running red lights is cool? I can dig up citations if needed.
      - Arlington, Northside
        
        Dig away CW. I have never condoned red light running. I have stated my views of red light cameras in the negative. I have said that one should position themselves when taking a left turn so as to be able to go as the light is changing, which is what was taught in the Virginia Public Schools’ driving education in the 1980s. I have said that during rush hour one needs to react to the situation, rather than just the light in order to help their fellow drivers keep traffic moving.
        
        I will also remind transplants of the rules of the road I was taught when dealing with lights in D.C.; Yellow means speed up, red means three more cars, green means wait until those three cars have passed and then gun it. Of course during the 80s it was a good idea to gun it in many DC neighborhoods to get out fast for your own safety. That problem does not exist in the north end of Arlington County.
      - MC 703
        
        I think your pelvic mesh needs changing. The 80s were 30 years ago. Stay in North Arl I don’t want someone like you on the road in South Arl
      - CW
        
        So the short answer is yes, you are.
      - Lizzie
        
        Won’t comment on your silly second paragraph, but what you were taught in the 1980s is still the law. If the light is green, you may enter the intersection and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before continuing (even if that happens after the light turns). I was also taught that only ONE car may be waiting in the intersection; subsequent cars must wait behind the white line.
        
        Couldn’t find this in the virginia drivers manual, but falls church addresses it here:
        http://www.fallschurchva.gov/content/government/departments/publicsafety/roadsafety.aspx?cnlid=3569
      - Westover
        
        Yes, Lizzie. However, CW thinks that you should hold back a full car length before the white line until it is totally clear before pulling up to attempt a turn.
- Rick
  
  Was that over the weekend? I saw that too. 4 cruisers showed up…
- Josh S
  
  I loved the “notified the constabulary.” Excellent touch.
lala

That is a narrow road with lots of people crossing at multiple points in road, drivers really need to slow down. It’s amazing to me how fast cars still go in Arlington despite all of the cyclists and pedestrians on the road.
- Westover
  
  At that point in the road it is even more dangerous as folks coming north bound are coming down a long hill with a steep end and pretty blind approach to 10th St.
- Parkington
  
  It’s actually a wide road, with a median, which makes cars believe they can go faster than the 25mph speed limit.
  
  I do agree there are lot of pedestrians, especially before and after school as there is a middle school nearby and that traffic should slow down in that area.
Evan

Ouch, HE GONE!
- Patrick
  
  Thanks Hawk
B22201

A. Hope the cyclist is okay.
B. Hope they catch the a-hole that hit someone and ran. That should be an automatic hanging.
- bum
  
  Hang them just because they drive an automatic?
- Ruth B
  
  We don’t know yet that a vehicle was involved at all. We should wait until we have all the information to assign blame. Also, it’s not just kids who cross these streets, and most of the crossers use the crosswalks. It’s so hilly here that visibility is limited and cars are going too fast (>25) and not keeping a sharp eye out for pedestrians. There are bike lanes on both sides of this street, but going either way the bikers are going uphill or downhill and may be stressed medically or physically and not keeping a sharp eye out. We all need to slow down and watch out for the other guy.
  - Josh S
    
    “We”?
Jake_O

It was only a matter of time before either a ped, biker or car got hit on that road.

There’s a very large weeping willow tree at that very intersection that COMPLETELY blocks any visibiliy for northbound 10th Street traffic to see southbound Patric Henry traffic travelling down over the I66 bridge.

That willow tree needs to be trimmed ASAP to prevent further tragic incidents at this intersection!! Hope the scumbag hit-runner gets caught and punished. In the meantime, trim that damn weeping willow tree!!!
- Arlington, Northside
  
  If folks would just do the 25mph limit, the tree can stay.
  - Jack Tors
    
    Exaclty. Speed all you want on the highways. Neighborhoods need to be 25 for a reason.
  - Jake_O
    
    I didn’t say get rid of the tree and cut the willow down, Lorax. I said trim it.
    - Westover
      
      A trim would be nice, if just for walking on the sidewalk there.
- HughJassPhD
  
  That willow tree could definitely use a trim.
  - Eddie Murphy
    
    I gotta get me some trim.
    - Allen
      
      You’re not funny.
      - Gunnie Goo Goo
        
        You can kiss my a–!
bad intersection

This is a terrible intersection. The Dominion Hills Civic Association (not Westover) has worked so hard to force Arlington to improve the safety here and has always been met with resistance. Sad, sad that this had to happen but I hope it forces them to reexamine it. This is a major crossing for kids going to/from Swanson as well.
- JamesE
  
  Every intersection in Arlington is bad.
- JohnB
  
  Looks to me like the lanes on the bridge are too wide. Gives the feeling that it is safe to drive fast when it’s a 25 mph. Add a median on the bridge and separated cycle tracks/bike lanes on the side to narrow the lane and cars will naturally slow down.
  - Jack Tors
    
    Too wide for what? Their width have nothing to do with what speed people should drive.
    - Parkington
      
      Too wide for a 25 mph speed limit. It is no secret that drivers will drive faster when the road is wider, regardless of the posted speed limit. I think the “traffic calming measures” stated by John would help exactly as he stated.
      - HD
        
        The bridge is probably owned by VDOT. That’s the only thing that would explain why Arlington has not installed bike lanes, interactive medians with public art illumination features, a spray ground and a public information kiosk about the trolley.
      - Parkington
        
        Yes this is probably true, I don’t see it happening. My point was mainly that people speed over that bridge because it is wide.
        
        I suppose they could put a speed bump at either end, they already run speed traps where this accident occured.
      - Westover
        
        The speed checks are too rare for the speeds on the bridge and the close proximity to Swanson Jr. HS and Westover Preschool.
      - HD
        
        Back about 20 years ago they used to put a speed trap on Ohio street just north of the bridge over 66. It was there often enough that you learned to cut your speed just as you crested the hill mid-span. Back then Ohio was just as wide as the bridge with no median. They eventually added the media and stopped the speed trap.
        
        So it is true that a speed trap is really only effective at controlling speeds when it is there often enough that you expect it.
      - Westover
        
        HD nailed it. Speeds are reasonable along Ohio, but than folks hit McKinley, and unless the school lights are flashing, cars are doing 40MPH
      - drax
        
        A speed TRAP is where the speed limit suddenly changes, cars don’t slow down in time, and cops sit and wait so they can raise money. It happens alot in small towns along busy highways. It is not just a place where cops set up radar.
      - Parkington
        
        Thank you drax, I will refer to them as “places where police routinely set up radar for the purpose of ticketing speeding motorists” from now on. Jeez you’re fun.
      - Jack Tors
        
        Talk about the tail wagging the dog. Since when are you taught that your should be determined by width of the road, rather than the speed limit?
        
        Now if you are saying the road doesn’t need to be that wide, sure, right on.
      - Westover
        
        It is not a taught response. Folks naturally drive faster on wider roads. Millions of tax dollars have been spent by DOT studying this phenomenon.
    - Josh S
      
      But everything to do with how fast people *actually* drive.
- Westover
  
  The Westover Neighborhood association has worked with our Dominion Hills Neighbors to try to improve safety on the streets, particularly Patrick Henry Dr. The recent median construction provided minimal safety improvements in my honest opinion. And in fact made it a bit worse with that strange curb cut on the west side of the street of the bike path.
Reading Comprehension

Did you guys read the story before you jumped to conclusions and want to hang the guilty motorist?

“However, a police spokesman now says there might not have been a vehicle involved at all.”
- JohnB2
  
  That tidbit was added later. Initially it was reported as hit and run.
  - B22201
    
    Yeah. . .
    
    That was added later.
    
    Either way, we need a good hangin’!
    
    (I don’t actually support hanging, but I do support people being responsible for their actions. . . and if they hit someone, they shouldn’t run away)
    - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1f417ndJ6g/TVwunjA_lwI/AAAAAAAAAEg/wOXJXm1yOZ4/s1600/torches-and-pitchforks-simpson.jpg Homer
      
      We must find that motorist!!!
http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

I’ll lay money on struck by someone else. Wheels don’t bend themselves like that when tipping over (or even running into things).
- Stating the Obvious
  
  Definitely. Given the condition of the bike, I’m curious as to why the police would even suggest this wasn’t a hit and run. Maybe a witness told them there was no car?
  - HD
    
    Yes, it is entirely possible, nay likely, that the police have gathered more information about this accident than people posting here.
    - Stating the Obvious
      
      Not a very credible witness, then.
      - Allan
        
        More credible than someone who was not there.
malaka

Don’t know what kind of “medical emergency” would cause your shoes to fly off and land 10-15 feet from your bike
Rich

Yeah, that wheel is tacoed as all hell. I seriously doubt that happened running into a curb. That looks like a hit and run
- biggirl
  
  And it knocked him out of his shoe.
  - bman
    
    mythbusters did a show and found it was possible under the right conditions to have your sock knocked off.
John Fontain

The biker was probably an elementary school kid forced to ride their bike 13 miles with a 65 pound backpack and a tuba around their neck. It’s all Murphy’s fault.
- Kenny Powers
  
  Starting to read this comment thread, I said to myself, “Self, I bet JF shows up to muck it up by mixing in the walk school kerfuffle ongoing elsewhere on this site.” Right on que you entered stage left and began to bloviate. Predictable. Priceless. Thanks for making my night.
  - Kenny Powers
    
    I know…cue.
    - drax
      
      Cue sera, sera.
  - CW
    
    You must be new around here. Linking pet topics to other threads is one of the great pastimes. It is part of the VIBRANCY. I personally have been trying to think of how I can use this story as evidence as to why dogs shouldn’t be allowed in outdoor dining areas, but I’m having trouble. Give me a while longer.
Otto Mattik

That bike’s probably an automatic.
- Dezlboy
  
  Otto, your remark was uncalled for. This is a serious matter, and you make a joke! However, I did chuckle.
^ is a rube

I just hope he’s carrying a camera that films, the way that many cyclists are now doing, so that the car’s driver (aka the ‘medical emergency’ of getting hit by a car) is captured. If you’re a cyclist, carry one of those cameras, they’re cheap and easy (<>).

And the driver should be hung until dead. (Just to stay in lockstep with other commentators).
- Arlingtoon
  
  I believe the correct choice of words should be “the driver should be hanged until dead.” “Hung” is something different.
  - drax
    
    I’ll be hung until I’m dead.
    - sunflower
      
      lucky you
    - http://purple.com/purple.html Captain Pup McPuppo
      
      +1
- Rick
  
  What past society would hang people for a few seconds?
  - Ricardo
    
    Hanging usually kills by snapping the neck, not asphyxiation.
  - Eamon De Valera
    
    In Ireland in the 1790s, they use to half-hang Irish rebels and suspected rebels until they were near dead and then stop so they could recover, and then do it again.
    
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-hanging
- drax
  
  Easy, but not cheap.
Rosslyner

Unless the police or ambulance ran over that bike, there ain’t no way that wheel damage was self-inflicted. Hope the rider is OK.

I got T-boned by a car in an intersection in DC last year (I had the green light) and my bike came out with only minor injuries. At least the driver in my case had the decency to stop and offer assitance.

I’d suggest caning…..and jail time.
- CW
  
  Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I’ve never seen a downhill racer taco a rim that badly, let alone a guy riding down the street.
- nom de guerre
  
  This bike is clearly not a downhill bike with downhill rims. I believe the picture indicates the rims were constructed of the lightweight alloy, Collapsium, which has been known to taco during tensioning or hitting minor road/trail imperfections.
Sssssss

There’s clearly a snake coming out from behind the bent wheel. I suspect he had something to do with it.
ARLRez

Hope the bicyclist is ok. As someone who lives very close to this intersection… it is dangerous. People drive way too fast through there. Please slow down.
steve85

the only reason why this is a big deal is because it happen in N Arlington…If it happen in South Arlington these comments wouldnt be as appealing…This happens all the time…get use to it..its what happens when u mix cars with bikes!!
chimichanga

[Post removed per comment policy]
- Here we go again
  
  Thanks callous self centred driver for your predictable comment.(you forgot to mention Lycra by the way). This time it is even less funny than usual as the cyclist is seriously injured. really…. what an a’hole!
- Greg
  
  I agree. What cowards those bikers are. Hey man, post your name and contact info and maybe we can hang out sometime and console each other about these cowards!
  - drax
    
    So you’re not a coward, right, Greg? So you actually will post your full name and contact info.
    
    Right?
- Arlingtonian
  
  And motorists don’t endanger others? That’s news to me, and to the tens of thousands of people killed by car drivers every year in the U.S. I see a lot of unsafe, reckless and aggressive behavior from car drivers every day. Certainly cyclists are not angels either, but you seem to think that no car driver has ever broken a law or engaged in dangerous behavior.
- http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB
  
  In addition to being a moral failure, you’re ignorant of the law, Chimi. In no way, shape, or form is the law more protective of cyclists than drivers.
  
  In any event, please do watch this –
  
  http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/news/local/Cyclist-Injured-in-Hit-and-Run-Describes-Crash/167618215
- Stating the Obvious
  
  I’d like an example of how the law favors cyclists, if you wouldn’t mind.
  
  Perhaps it should. Motorists killed 630 cyclists in 2009 and injured 51,000. If drivers get charged at all, it’s usually a misdemeanor traffic violation. Many flee the scene and are never caught. Given that dismal reality, those drivers who aren’t at fault have absolutely nothing to fear from law enforcement and should remain at the scene. If for no other reason than to comfort a dying or seriously injured human being.
  
  When was the last time a cyclist did anything more than annoy an impatient motorist?
  - HD
    
    Caused the death of a woman on the bike trail a few months ago.
    - Southland Driver
      
      Fact. But would rather the cyclists stick to the trails when available than clog up are already limited street lanes.
    - Stating the Obvious
      
      How’d the law “favor” the cyclist in that case, and what law did the cyclist break?
      - HD
        
        That’s not what you asked.
NotLanceArmstrong

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been riding legally, minding my own business and was buzzed at high speed for no reason by a chickensh*t driver. Bikes don’t buzz or endanger motorists. Yes, they (we) sometimes break traffic laws, but when we do that we put ourselves at risk, you understand physics,yes? You are not put at risk in your your big honkin’ steel car or 4×4. When you buzz a cyclist, you can kill someone in a nanosecond and cars more often screw with bikes, not the other way around. To say the cyclist had it coming – with no facts on your side, I’ll add) – is akin to she had it coming because she wore a short skirt. Have you no shame, sir?
- http://www.iammike.org Mike C
  
  Happened to me yesterday. She got caught at a light afterward, I rolled up beside, asked her calmly why she honked and floored it as she drove by, and she completely ignored me. Good times. Ragers… Not sure what they’re trying to solve other than make us jump/potentially crash. Gotta be a sad human being to wish harm onto an innocent person.
  
  Green convertible Mustang on Key Bridge.
  - http://purple.com/purple.html Captain Pup McPuppo
    
    cant trust chicks in mustangs, much less a green convertible.
  - Southland Driver
    
    Maybe she would have made the light if you had not held her up earlier. I take it you ran the light in typical cyclist fashion.
    - CW
      
      If you were not so blinded by your hatred of humans that are diffrerent from you that you could actually read English properly, you would see that she was “caught at a light afterward” meaning that she was stopped by the red light AFTER her unprovoked road rage behavior.
      - John Fontain
        
        What southland is saying is that maybe the reason she was caught at the light after her “unprovoked road rage behavior” was because she had to slow down to deal with a bike riding on the bridge rather than on the side of the bridge (out of vehicular traffic).
      - CW
        
        Hmm, guess I am the one who can’t read after all. Indeed.
        
        I’ve been riding the Key Bridge for years, daily now for months. The state of the sidewalks – clogged with four-wide groups of tourists taking pictures, joggers with earphones, dogs, those stupid lamp posts that jut out 2 feet – has made me give serious thought to becoming one of those who ride with traffic on the bridge. I used to think it would be suicide, but I’ve had enough near-death experiences on the sidewalks to wonder if it might be a wash.
      - http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB
        
        I take a lane on weekends. Too much potential for conflict with pedestrians when it’s crowded.
      - NotLanceArmstrong
        
        Larger point is that CW has the law in his/her side. Like it or not, bikes are legally permitted in most lanes of traffic except highways. And for those in the thread tossing off snark about “yelling out on your left” that’s exactly why we ride on the streets where we can so we don’t hit a walker. It’s not hard to just move your car around a bike. Honking/yelling as we ride legally is ridiculous. Buzzing us could be deadly. Just relax everyone.
      - drax
        
        No, what Southland Driver is trying to say is he/she hates an entire class of people based on the actions of some of them.
    - http://www.iammike.org Mike
      
      Wrong and wrong. Sorry to disappoint.
  - Observer
    
    She was trying to let you know that you were slowing her down and in the way. How hard is that to figure out? I’m glad she didn’t answer your smarmy question, and she probably giggled about it all the way home.
    - Ralph T.
      
      Oh my gosh, slowing her down?!
    - drax
      
      No, she was terribly embarassed to be confronted.
  - Ed
    
    You probably just didn’t hear her scream “on your left” as she was zipping around your bike. That’s the proper etiquette, right?
Novice

Could be like me and just forgot to clip out. Timber!
- nom de guerre
  
  It looks like the pic shows the bike had basic platform pedals with reflectors-no need to unclip. The cyclist may have had clothing with a “faux corporate logo”, though.
  - Josh S
    
    +a lot for the “faux corporate logo” reference!
  - John Fontain
    
    Those that wear the faux corporate logos would not be caught dead riding a bike as un-fancy as that one. It doesn’t mesh with their faux pro-rider image.
chik@fila.com

Bicyclist note to self: Cycling and bath salts do not mix
Stop

And look both ways always worked for me.
Steve O

So how would we find out anything more?
- Is the cyclist okay? What are the injuries and prognosis?
- Did the police determine if it was hit-n-run or single-bike crash?
- Is there going to be any follow up?

Since I live nearby, I’m very curious about what really happened.
dallynd

The purpose of the bump out curbs is to shorten the amount of time pedestrians are in the roadway and to make them more visible to drivers. That intersection is Dominion Hills, and the bridge IS owned by VDOT. The median on the north side of the bridge was added with the intent of helping slow traffic: one can see the median and trees planted on it as they come over the bridge now, whereas it really was a freeway feel before. VDOT would not allow the median to be extended past the point where it is, which is the actual line between county and VDOT jurisdiction. I don’t think that intersection is any more dangerous than others: in 20 years I don’t recall an incident and my child walks and bikes in the neighborhood. People need to slow down, and yes, both that willow and a couple of redbuds blocking STOP signs at various intersections need trimming. I hope the biker is alright, but those roads are walked by elementary and middle schoolers and it is their safety for which the medians and bump outs were installed.
- Westover
  
  The bump out is fine, it is the cut out from where the bike path comes up that is dangerous and just plain strange. The median work did not amke things much better. When the trees are full they now block the view of northbound drivers to the opposite corner, and the hill could easily have been worked out a bit more. And drivers going southbound, trying to turn left on to 10th Street can’t see northbound drivers until the last minute. Fine if the other car is doing 25mph, but we both know the average car coming down that hill is probably doing 35-45mph which leaves very little reaction time. There have been more than a few fender benders there since the road work was completed, luckly no one has been hurt that I know of.
Charles

Hey, arlnow.com, the correct name of the hospital is “Inova Fairfax” – you typed it wrong. Next time, hire smarter interns to write your stories.
- Westover
  
  Mah, it will ALWAYS be Fairfax Hospital to natives of the area. Who cares where the Inova branding goes.
  - drax
    
    Fairfax Hospital, Arlington Hospital, National Airport.
    - transplant
      
      A-Town
      - Westover
        
        Go back to Kansas.
      - WeiQiang
        
        *gasp* never!
    - Wendy
      
      I like how all the Metro announcements on the Orange Line always seem to include “Reagan” when mentioning transfers.
      - Westover
        
        Actually Federal Law for them to do that. Some congressman got upset when it was just announced as National Airport and so in the next transportation authorization bill, there was something to make it the office to be announced name.
    - http://www.arlnow.com Lauren
      
      agree – I still call them by these names.
      - http://www.arlnow.com Lauren
        
        well, I was agreeing with Drax
    - NoVapologist
      
      CVS = Peoples Drug
      - Westover
        
        Riteaid = DrugFair
        Advanced Auto = TrakAuto
Wendy

Well from the outside it is looking more and more like there was no vehicle involved here. Nothing new to the public from the police about a description or investigation of a fleeing car. Just a private citizen matter. Hope he gets better.

Crystal City to Host Sand Volleyball Games Morning Notes

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