I received another email update from Russ. It’s now eleven days after his bicycle accident and he has yet to be interviewed by the police to get his side of the story, what could they possibly be waiting for? I’d like to believe that police take every accident seriously and all are treated with the same diligence, but I’m struggling with why the facts seem to disagree with my utopic view of justice. Russ has now placed two calls to the Westerly police department asking to be interviewed, both times he was told that that they would call him back and arrange to come out for an interview, but he has yet to hear anything.
Russ relates what a huge impact this has had on his life
my level of activity not just as someone who trains regularly but that as a competitive athlete. It is that
which has been taken away from me, at least for some time at best. I race bikes and skis. Cycling started as cross-training but has become a passion. residents here usually see me riding 25-50 miles on a daily basis. When the
accident occurred, I was following my usual warm-up route of 15 miles. I’ve been a USAC member and raced in that capacity, raced a 53-miler in the mountains of VT this summer, and ski race with USSA, including the national
level. I was a competitor as a Nordic racer in the 70’s-90’s. Nationally ranked and some Olympic aspirations.The injury is unfortunate in that I am not just hurt, but at my age, one’s level of training goes fast when disabled. Further, I am not some couch potato who doesn’t know the rules of the road! I was riding exactly as
I should be, put on three strobe lights when the sun started to set, and my helmet in all likelihood saved my life (as has my ski helmet when I crashed racing a downhill once)
In the blink of an eye Russ’ life was forever changed, yet the driver of the automobile is still without any sort of citation. The official police report states that Russ
received a concussion and “a few bumps and bruises”
However, since our last update, Russ has now visited with multiple doctors who believe that the injuries
are clearly due to being struck by a car and not falling to the ground, as the witness for the driver contends.
he now has
a Siamese twin about the size of a watermelon on my hip, cannot walk, and an abdomen and groin full of pooled blood
I’m working on getting a copy of the police report to post and any other news articles.