Bicyclist hurt during Trace ride

Ran stop sign and into car

By Anne Lautzenheiser
St. Tammany News
Published on Friday, January 30, 2009 9:29 AM CST

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A Saturday morning bike ride developed some serious consequences when a bicyclist ran a stop sign on the Tammany Trace and plowed head on into a car.

The man and a companion were riding on the Trace, heading toward Abita Springs around 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 17. According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, both were traveling at a high rate of speed when the man ran a stop sign as he crossed Third Street, about a block off of Louisiana Highway 36. He struck a car approaching La. 36.

Sheriff’s office spokesman George Bonnett said the motorist was not at fault.

Bystanders at the time noted the man’s companion, a young woman, appeared to have been riding a bit slower and was able to stop in time.

Donald King was walking with his cousin on the Trace when the cyclists passed him going in the same direction. As they approached the Third Street crossing a short time later, they noted the fire trucks and saw the man being loaded into an ambulance.

“It looked like he hit the side of the car, but the front windshield was busted out,” said King. “It looked like that bike was torn up pretty good, too.”

King said he occasionally rides the Trace in that area, and while there is generally not a lot of heavy traffic on Third Street, most riders slow down considerably as they approach the roadway.

The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington.

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Comments

1 comment(s)

bigmeanie wrote on Jan 30, 2009 1:18 PM:

" I see people on bikes run the stop signs on the trace all the time. Its unfortunate that someone got hurt, but I hope maybe people will pay more attention to traffic laws now. I always hear people arguing that bicyclists have the right to be on the roads, but its rare that the bicyclists obey the laws that apply to them being on the road. Please stop for stop signs and learn the hand signals necessary to alert auto drivers of your intentions. "

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