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A cyclist got hit by a car last week and incurred minor injuries as well as damage to her bike. The female driver left the scene, while another motorist who witnessed the event pulled over to help. The accident happened last Friday at 3 p.m. at the intersection of Gerstmar and Springfield.
“I was fully aware of her presence but she just wasn't aware of me," said Nicole Engel, cyclist 30 years old.
Engel was cycling home from work in Rutland and heading downtown on Springfield when a car began turning left onto Gerstmar. She tried to swerve out of the way and ended up skidding off her bike and onto the gravel for about eight feet.
"I was pretty shaken up in the street and she just kinda pulled to the side..saw that I was on the ground with my bike on top of me - and my jackets' all ripped and my gloves are ripped and I've got scrapes all over me - and she just yells out her car, "Are you ok?"
“I couldn't respond because I was just so shaken up and she just drove off quickly without any further conversation,” said Engel.
A father and son saw what happened and quickly helped Engel get up and move over to the side of the road with her bike. After seeing Engel try to walk, they offered her a ride. Engel says she was still in shock and tried to ride away on her bike.
“I just was feeling kind of overwhelmed so I said I was fine. I tried to get on my bike but it was all crooked from the accident and then I called my husband to come and pick me up,” said Engel.
Engel says she couldn’t understand how the driver didn’t see her on a sunny day at 3 p.m.
“I just felt so vulnerable and yeah just really shaken up,” said Engel.
Engel’s bike needs new handlebars and she has a twisted ankle, along with various scrapes and bruises on her hips and down to her ankles. But this isn’t the first time she’s been hit in Kelowna. After living in Kelowna for more than 10 years, the 30-year-old has been hit three times.
"I bike in the bike lane, I have lights on my bike, I wear a helmet, I go when I'm supposed to, I stop when I'm supposed to, I don't bike on the sidewalk or on opposite sides of the road and just whiz out in traffic,” explained Engel. “I'm a very conscientious cyclist - especially since I've been hit before.”
Engel’s bike commute to work takes about 20 minutes every day. She rides year-round, except after heavy snowfalls. The bike paths have made her feel safer and she hopes more of them will be completed.
"People don't expect bicycles. They're not looking for them,” said Engel.
She hopes the City will provide more bike lanes in the future.
"Like in Rutland area, there's absolutely no bike lanes and they're not looking for you in the least bit, especially in the winter time, people don't think that there's going to be a cyclist coming through and then that's when you're at most risk,” said Engel.
What do you think could be done to improve safe cycling and driving in Kelowna?
Can cyclists and motorists share the road safely?
Tell us your thoughts.
Next week, KelownaNow will follow bike safety experts through traffic to brush up on safe cycling. Stay tuned!
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