THE ACCIDENT RECOUNTED BELOW HAPPENED JUST THIS WEEKEND. A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY. THIS IS SUCH A PERSONAL RECORD OF THE EVENT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WORTHWHILE TO SHARE, NOT TO DISCOURAGE RIDING, BUT TO ENCOURAGE SAFE RIDING, AWARENESS...AND PRAYER. [AUTHOR'S NAME AND OTHER'S FULL NAMES WITH-HELD.]
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 14:57:44 -0500
Subject: Bike accident
I got this today from the exxonmobil cycling team out of houston.
Brazoria Bicycle Accident — My Memories
The day before yesterday, Saturday, August 30, 2003, I was involved in a bicycling accident near Brazoria. I sustained a few scrapes and bruises, but all are minor physical injuries that will heal. Emotionally, I feel like someone tore my gut out. I have been riding with our local bike club for 19 years. I have seen some terrible accidents over that time, but never anything like this before. I have heard the accident scene described as grisly, unbelievable, an unspeakable! tragedy, and a nightmare; however, words cannot truly depict the devastation and loss of life that my eyes witnessed.
The day started out like our typical Saturday mornings at the Lake Jackson Recreation Center. Twenty-one cyclists gathered and were chatting with each other in the parking lot. Kenny introduced us to his girlfriend from Dallas, Amanda. We left the parking lot at 7:30am with the sun shining down on us. Two doctors and a police officer were riding in our group. We were riding West on Highway 332. The road was dry until
approaching the bridge that crosses the Brazos River into the town of Brazoria. There the road was wet from a small isolated shower that had passed through earlier, but the sun was still shining. Kenny and Amanda were laughing and talking in front of me as we rode under the bridge.
Within a second, the serenity of our Saturday morning ride was shattered. I heard a commotion at the front of our group and looked up to see a silver truck sliding sideways into our pace line. I tried to turn to the left to avoid the truck, but my tires slipped. I thought I was going to be hit by the truck as I fell down on my left side. As I slid down the pavement, another cyclist, Al, ran into my leg and went down hard on the left of me. At the same time, I heard the dreadful noise of the truck spinning past
my right side. Before I could stand up, I heard someone behind my left side calling 911. It was Billie telling them to send multiple ambulances. Andy was directly behind me stopping traffic.
I looked around in total disbelief. The bicycles and riders that were in a neat pace line were now scattered on the road in front of me and in the ditch and field to my right. The truck came to rest behind my right side. I saw a huge dent in the side of the truck. There was someone lying between the truck and the bridge. It was Amanda. I didn't understand how she could be behind me. She was moving and someone was running up to her. I started
looking at all the riders that were down. I noticed two riders just a few feet away to my immediate right. They were not moving. That's when I first started feeling something tearing at my gut.
As I stumble toward the rider nearest to me I felt a sense of panic because I had not seen my wife yet. I started shouting her name. Margie responded; she was safe on the left side of the road. I heard Lance, the police officer riding with us, call for LifeFlight. I saw the doctors rushing to help. I knelt down next to the first motionless rider. I was shocked when I saw it was Jim T; he was gone. My mind did not want to believe what
my eyes saw, but he was gone. A lady that stopped to help knelt down and began praying to God to save him, but he was gone. I looked over at the second motionless rider. It was Brian D; he was gone. CPR, prayers, and tears could not revive them. Emergency Medical Technicians, followed by LifeFlight, arrived within minutes, but Jim and Brian were gone.
I just couldn't believe it. In the blink of an eye, two skilled riders; two good men; they were gone. It happened so fast, I wondered if they even knew what hit them. After tending to Kelton, Margie came over to me to and gently pulled me away from Jim so the EMTs and DPS Officers could do their job. I didn't want to leave Jim's side. I didn't want to accept that I couldn't do anything save him. The hard reality was no one could do anything
to bring Jim or Brian back; they were gone. Andy P, an Episcopal minister, led us in a prayer over each of them.
I watched the doctors, EMTs, and DPS Officers do their jobs. They took care of the other injured riders. Al and Kelton were on there way to Brazosport Memorial Hospital. Amanda was on LifeFlight going to Hermann Hospital. Lance was helping the other officers with the accident investigation. I felt a profound sense of respect for these professionals and the work they have to do every day to try to save lives. It must be hard to have a job where you
have to deal with human frailty and vulnerability so frequently. By the disturbed looks on the faces of those professionals working the scene, it must be very hard.
One of our friends, John, heard about the accident and drove over to see if he could help. He loaded Margie's bike and my bike into the back of his truck to take us back to Lake Jackson. As we drove away, I saw a black hearse pulling up to the accident scene. It hit me hard that Jim and Brian would not be going home to their wives and daughters. My heart ached for
their families. My gut felt like it had been wrenched out of me. Although I have had to deal with the loss of loved ones in the past, I have never been a witness to such a tragic and senseless ! loss of life. The sun was still shining, but it was one of the darkest days of my life.