Sad to say, not everyone’s moral compass functions well under stressful and sometimes life-shattering situations. Such would appear to have been the case a while back when an unknown driver of a smaller SUV crashed into a cyclist in the Brooklyn Park area of Baltimore. Cycling and pedestrian traffic accidents have been in the news for a while now with little sign that the deadly situations Marylanders face daily in urban and densely populated areas will improve in the near term.
It’s hard to say for certain, but personal injury accidents involving bicycles and cars or commercial trucks have always been more serious than solitary biking crashes. Of course, hitting a tree or other stationary object at 20mph or more on a bike can result in traumatic brain injury, also referred to as closed-head trauma. This is in addition to other, less life-threatening conditions like cuts, lacerations and simple bone factures.
Bicycle helmets — now in common use by competitive cyclists, serious riders, and safety conscious parents with young children — can give a rider that extra margin of protection, which can make the difference between a short hospital stay and weeks or maybe months of medical treatment, post-operative rehabilitation and physical therapy.
According to news reports, a 25-year-old Baltimore resident died in the hospital from injuries he received during a hit-and-run car crash in Brooklyn Park. Police reports indicate that Alex Hernandez was one of two cyclists struck by hit-and-run drivers in separate incidents on a Thursday morning in July. Unfortunately for Mr. Hernandez, his injuries were much too severe and doctors could not save him.
Based on police reports, a female driver operating a black sedan – possibly a Hyundai — was believed to have hit Hernandez at around 8am. Police believed that the suspects vehicle had visible damage to the car’s front right headlight, part of the hood and the windshield.
The deadly accident occurred on a stretch of Ritchie Highway near the intersection of Bon Air Ave. The victim was reportedly trying to cross the highway when he was struck by the hit-and-run car. Surprisingly, witnesses apparently saw the driver get out of her vehicle after the collision and then inspect the crash site, after which she reportedly got back into the vehicle and left the scene of the accident. Nobody was able to provide the license plate details.
Emergency responders transported Hernandez to Baltimore’s Shock Trauma Center, where he was initially listed in critical condition. However his condition eventually deteriorated and he died several days later.
In a similar incident, a Glen Burnie man was struck by a gray passenger sedan being driven by a bearded man along a stretch of Crain Hwy. near Georgia Ave. a little after 7am the same morning that Hernandez was hit. According to police, 41-year-old Mario Garcia was transported to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, after which he was initially listed in critical/unstable condition that same day. The suspect’s car was reported seen speeding away from the scene as it traveled northbound on Crain Hwy.
UPDATED: Victim in Brooklyn Park Hit-and-Run Succumbs to Injuries, Patch.com, July 18, 2011