The failure of an SUV driver to stop at a red light led to a collision in downtown Norfolk, Virginia (VA), that left a bicycle rider hospitalized with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. The accident occurred at around 7:30 am on October 9, 2014.
Police did not release details on the exact cause of the crash, but they did report that the bicyclist had a green light permitting her to make a left turn from East 21st Street. The nature of the bike rider’s injuries were also not disclosed, but my Virginia Beach-based personal injury law firm colleagues know from our experience with helping victims of similar accidents that getting hit on a bike often inflicts traumatic brain injuries, broken bones and internal injuries to organs. Survival is often just the first difficult step on a long road to recover for people hurt in collisions between bicycles and automobiles.
A completed investigation into the accident near Maury High School may reveal that the at-fault driver became distracted and failed to see either the stop signal or the bicyclist. Getting temporarily blinded by sunlight, speeding too fast to come to a complete stop or being impairment by drugs or alcohol could also be to be blame. Regardless of what set the stage for the wreck, however, the consequences remain severe, and possibly life-changing, for the bike rider. No explanation qualifies as an excuse that relieves the driver of liability for the harm caused.
EJL