By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Douglas Blankenship was carrying seven pounds of hamburger with him as he bicycled back home to Chehalis after a trip to Reicherts Meats in Centralia.
It happened really fast, he said.
He was headed down Cascade Avenue near the post office, when the door of a parked car opened, he said. He pulled his hand away so it wouldn’t get crushed.
“I was in the air, I went over the handle bars,” he said. “I just tucked my head.”
Blankenship said he hit the ground and when he opened his eyes, three women were sitting next to him, telling him not to move.
The accident about 3:45 p.m. last Monday sent him to the emergency room at Providence Centralia Hospital.
No bones were broken, just a lot of scraped skin and bruised body parts, he said after getting released.
Now, the 40-year-old is wondering if anyone else saw what happened. The police report didn’t make note of any witnesses, he said.
Blankenship said he’s not working, he doesn’t have insurance and he’s got medical bills.
“The doctor said the lady’s insurance should cover it, but when I mentioned about the lady’s insurance, the officer wasn’t really going that route,” he said.
After the incident, the Chehalis Police Department said the driver was getting ready to go into the post office and said she checked but didn’t see him, before opening her door. The bicyclist told police he was traveling close to the sidewalk, although not on it, and went to go around the car when its door opened, police said.
Blankenship said the hospital finished with him around 7:30 p.m. or 8 o’clock that night, and nurses – or someone – paid for a taxi to get him over to the fire department, where his bike and hamburger were.
He was appreciative of all of them for helping him out, he said. But now he’s uncertain what to do next.
“I’m just taking it step by step, this has never happened to me before” he said. “I’m trying to find out if anyone saw it.”
He didn’t think to gather names of witnesses himself before the ambulance took him away, he said.
He said he vaguely recalls a woman in a vehicle across the street, and is hoping she saw what took place, and will contact him. He can be reached at 360-388-388-0114.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Everyone is a judge yet nobody can handle being judged…….
Sue:
I sometimes ride a bike, actually quite often, and I own a tundra, 2 Toyota cars, a Nissan Altima, and last but not least, a 67 mustang-all vehicles which have current registrations and up to date insurance, so does that mean I don’t pay my fair share of taxes in order to ride a bike? you just can’t label everyone the same now can you?
I’ll start yielding to cyclists when they have to carry operators licenses, and pay road taxes…too many of them, and I’ve seen this more times than I can count, think that THEY have the right of way, or don’t look where the h*ll they’re going.
Is there a clearly marked bike lane? If so, was he in it?
How is Spring “sprung,” 1GR? The RCW cited looks pretty clear to me, whether the vehicle involved is a car, truck, motorcycle or bicycle, since bikes are legally the same as something motorized, even cyclists who blow through stop signs and/or fail to yield (hello, downtown Seattle cyclists).
On the other hand, the cyclist was not using a designated lane for traffic while riding next to the curb before he swung out. I hope he recovers and I tend to lean toward the car driver being liable, but there’s a lot of grey between the black and white.
Personally, even though I own a nice 12-speed that I used to ride to work when I lived near Seattle, I’d never ride it down here. Between the condition of the streets and the almost visceral dislike cyclists face from many car and truck drivers, it’s not worth it.
so spring you seem to think it’s ok for a cyclist to ride next to the curb, out of sight of a person looking over their left shoulder and checking their mirror, to suddenly move to the left as someone opens their car door and then cry foul. and tirefyre if the cyclist knew and obeyed the rules of the road this would not have happened. if the bike had been in the lane of travel and not right next to the car he would have passed safely.
this bike rider should be required to pay for any damages on the car and his own hospital bills.
I’m on the bicyclists side on this one, they ban us from sidewalks and force us into the road where it is dangerous and put us in positions like this.
As a bicyclist I don’t think most people who make up the rules have ever had to deal with jerks in cars with attitudes who think it’s funny to drive 2″ away from you at high speed, or blast their horns in your ear.
I believe Spring is sprung. That is ridiculous.
In Washington, the exiting driver has the primary duty to yield to passing cyclists. RCW 46.61.620 states, “no person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side adjacent to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic.” It’s not hard to see an approaching cyclist. You can look out the window over your left shoulder, you can crack the door and look back or you can look out of the driver’s side mirror.
Advice for a cyclist.. If you were doored, get help with your case because drivers often blame cyclists for getting doored, saying the cyclist came out of nowhere or was riding really fast. Bottom line, an exiting driver has the primary duty to avoid dooring a cyclist.
maybe a bicycle safety might be in order. pretty obvious who’s at fault here. of course she didn’t see you if you were next to the curb and decided to swerve out around her it makes it all your fault. you should also get a bill for any damage to her car.
I would say it was the bicyclist fault not the lady in the car.