My first and worst (on a bike) was as a college freshman when I mowed down an eight-year-old girl running across the road. Late for class, I was bookin' on a slight downhill with books bungeed to the Pletcher on the back. I spotted her on my side and her mother on the opposite side with a baby stroller, yelling across the street that it was safe to cross. The girl stepped off the curb, stepped back, and then darted out in front of me.BanditBoyDavid said:Anyway, I was just wonderin' what your worst crash has been.
She hit the pavement screaming but was able to scramble across to her mom. My bike flipped and books and I went sliding across the pavement. A woman driving a VW bus full of kids helped me gather my stuff and lock the bike to a post, and drove me to an emergency room. She explained that the kids belonged to faculty families who had a cooperative child care arrangement going. She gave me her phone number in case I needed a witness or any other kind of help. I was grateful and remarked to myself that she was a credit to her husband's department and faculty spouses everywhere.
A cop was waiting for me when the doctor finished patching me up. He drove me to the station where I gave a statement and my bicycle had been impounded. The mother had told them I was speeding. The limit was 35 and I estimated that I could not have been going much faster than 25. This was before I had learned how to spin. I had to call friends for a ride home, and the police wouldn't let me take the bike until I showed proof that I owned it.
The next day I read about it in the paper. The mom, also a faculty wife, had painted a pretty evil picture of me and was talking about filing a suit, but as the kid's injuries were minimal and they were on opposite sides of the street, I never heard another word of it.