A SafeRide van struck a student on a bicycle at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of McCormick and Alderman Roads.
The bicyclist, first-year College student Patrick Monk, was taken to the hospital, where doctors performed surgery on his broken ankle. His right calf muscle was also torn, and he had a bruised bone in his right leg. Monk said he is currently in a wheelchair, and will be on crutches for a month or two. With physical therapy, he hopes to make a full recovery within three to six months.
Monk was riding down McCormick Road from Kellogg dormitory and was going straight through a green light when the SafeRide vehicle, which was driven by a University Police officer, made a left turn onto Alderman Road from McCormick. Monk, who was using a bicycle light, said he "had the right of way," and the vehicle did not signal before it turned onto Alderman Road.
Monk hit the brakes when he saw the van turn, but the wheels of his bike skidded and fell underneath the car's back tire, which ran over his legs and his bike.
Virginia State Police responded to the incident, and State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said her department is still conducting its investigation, and charges are pending. University Police Lieut. Melissa Fielding said her department does not comment on cases involving its officers, and State Police is still looking into the incident as "an independent, objective party."
Fourth-year College student Ashna Saxena was one of the students in the SafeRide vehicle at the time of the accident.
Saxena said she "heard a weird noise" that sounded "like a flat tire" but she did not know where the sound had come from. No one in the vehicle saw the biker when the accident occurred, and the driver quickly pulled off to the side of the road once the biker was seen limping, she said.
Students inside the van could "clearly tell [the bicyclist] was in a lot of pain," Saxena said. "Everyone was surprised and shocked."
After the accident, riders were asked to remain at the scene of the accident for about an hour to give police statements and information about the incident.
Monk has not yet spoken to the driver of the SafeRide vehicle, and he has not heard from the police since the night of the accident when he filed a report at the hospital.
"It was an accident that could have happened to anybody," he said. "I am not upset with the driver, but just with the situation."
-Caroline Newman contributed to this article
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