Mary Scherdnik’s nephew was riding his bike in the intersection near St. Joseph’s Hospital on Thursday when a car barreled through the turn lane. He was hit and the car left the scene.
“She stopped to yell at him,” Scherdnik said. “To say ‘Look what you did to my car. I’m not taking responsibility for this.'”
Now, her nephew is left with injuries to his shoulder and ankle.
“He can’t lift his shoulder,” she said. “He works at a grocery store so he won’t be able to work for a while.”
She said she’s nervous when he rides his bike through town as she sees how dangerous it is for cyclists.
“They [the city] need to crack down on this,” she said. “It was a hit and run and the police didn’t even come, so no one was held responsible.”
The League of American Bicyclists found an increase in fatal accidents involving bicyclists across the country with Tucson placing second on the list. Roadrunner Bicycles is a bike shop that was established in Tucson in 2005 and involved in the local cycling community. Nigel, who has worked there for the last two years, said it’s paramount for people to wear their helmets.
“I’ve been biking a significant amount of my life so I feel comfortable,” he said. “Definitely wear a helmet. That’s the biggest one i hear from doctors and stuff.”
He suggests not putting in headphones while riding a bike in Tucson.
“I don’t like using headphones so I have a little bike speaker so that way I can still hear my surroundings,” Nigel said.
He hopes to see improvements to bike lanes and more protection for cyclists.
“I’d like to see more bike lanes, protected bike lanes so that way you have parked cars between you and the cars,” he said.