Repost: Very Important!!!! ?Cyclist hit and needs your help!!!

Today my lawyer Lenore Shefman called me and asked me to post this up. Jason got all the details before I did, which is good because his blog draws so many more people, but this NEEDS TO BE POSTED AND REPOSTED.



Hey Fellow Cyclists,

This is the third case we have received over the past year where a cyclist was seriously injured and the offices eiher failed to take a report, failed to gather witness informtion, or failed to take driver insurance information. This is such a huge problem.

In this particular case, on May 4, 2009 at approx. 5:30 PM, a young man was riding his bike in the bike lane. As he neared the intersection of Academy and So. Congress, directly in front of Docs, an Audi moved from the left turn lane crossed over and made right hand turn into the cyclist. There were no less than 50 witnesses including EMT and Fire personnel having lunch at Docs. The officers responding to the call: Bloodworth #5117 and Johnson #6461 failed to follow a single protocol for an accident injury. They did not take the drivers information and they did not even write a report. The young cyclist was taken by ambulance to St. Davids, he sustained a broken hand, a complete and open broken collar bone, AC tear of his shoulder, back injury, and various nicks and scrapes as well as a mild head injury. They knew of all these injuries at the scene, yet APD did not even bother to write down the driver's information much less take a single witnesses' information.

This is so ridiculously unacceptable! If anyone has witness information, please forward it to our office. If you are on a blog and see any information about this incident, please let us know. I am amazed and overwhelmingly disappointed in the APD and their carlessness for the citizenry, specifically those of us on two wheels.

"I truly believe that in making honorable choices about our lives, we can acknowledge sacrifices we make and the risks we take and recognize that what others view as losses and foolhardiness are the nourishment upon which our spirits thrive." Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition

The Shefman Law Group
604 Mission Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
T: 415-357-3681
F: 415-357-3682
http://www.shefmanlaw.net
http://www.cyclistlaw.com

In Austin:
4015 Marathon Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78756
T: 512-386-8117
Toll Free: 877-366-7677
www.thelonestarattorney.com


Please if you have any information please contact Lenore or me. As a cyclist that has been hit a few times I understand the pain that this cyclist is going through. It is really saddening the way the city of Austin and it's police officers respond to a cyclist being hit.

What really has been getting me is the uproar that people are in over the Bicycle Plan. What people don't understand is that cyclist are not going away and we want to be safe when we ride. I know that this plan will help, and maybe would prevent accidents like this from happening if the general public was aware of the rights and were educated about cycling laws. That however is a post for another time.

Again, please if you have any info email me or Lenore.


til next time



OLC