Today was going great—sunny and productive, like Fridays should be. Then a cab hit me.

I was leaving the Bud Clark Commons—standing over my bike, waiting to turn left onto NW Broadway from Irving—as a gentleman from the New Rose City Cab Company was in apparent hot pursuit of a fare at the train station.

He was driving south on Broadway and swung a SHARP left onto Irving, putting aside any expectation that he travel in the correct lane. I estimate he was three feet away the first time he bothered to look at me, probably because he heard my screaming. It was too late, of course.

Here’s an artist’s rendering to help you picture it.

got_hit.jpg

The moments before impact weren’t so much panicked as resigned. I’d swear to you that I rolled off the guy’s hood and landed on my feet, but witnesses tell me I went down.

That’s one good thing about being hit by a cab in front of the Bud Clark Commons: witnesses. People are always hanging out there in the day time. The cabbie instantly began trying to convince everyone of his own blameless narrative, but no one was having it.

I’m scraped and swollen in places. My shoulders and arm and head ache. But nothing’s broken and I’m walking so that’s good. My bike—my beloved bike!—took this one for the team. You can’t really tell, but that basket—it’s an awesome basket!—is straight-up mangled.

crash_bike.jpg

The crazy thing, and something I need to follow up on: The cops refused to take an official report or cite the cabbie. They only do that in DUI accidents, hit and runs and a few other instances, she said. He’ll take a hit on his insurance, I assume, but receive no moving violation for an incident that could have easily gone far worse. Does that make sense to anyone? Have any of you been in this situation?

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

25 replies on “Just Got Hit By a Cab”

  1. PPB at it’s finest. How can they not cite the cabbie. He was driving in the wrong lane and he hit youy. For future refertence, always tell them you got hurt. Here in Vancouver, if you have a minor accident, the cops won’t even come unless someone is hurt. Seems like with what they get paid they could do something to earn it.

  2. You can do a citizen citation. Search that phrase and you’ll find a couple of resources on bike portland or websites for lawyers Ray Thomas or Mark Ginsberg. Then scour the ORS’s for as many you can find that might fit (think the vehicle code is around ORS 811 though that’s the top of my head).

  3. Wait — so the dude (or his employer) isn’t even going to have to pay for your new wheel/tire/basket/whatever else?? And you ASSUME that his insurance rates MIGHT go up?? And he wasn’t issued a citation even when he was clearly in the wrong, a fact that several witnesses attested to?? What the fuck, man?!

    I was hit by a woman in a van, resulting in damage to my bike (and basket!) quite similar to yours. I certainly hit the deck hard, but my injuries were probably a little less serious than yours. She immediately made sure that i was alright and quickly offered me and my bike a ride home. I trusted her to give me her real phone number, but i memorized her license plate just in case.

    I didn’t call the cops, but if i did, i would’ve been just as shocked as you were if they refused to even take a report. Is that seriously standard procedure?! Especially when a commercial vehicle is involved?!

    Later that afternoon i got a new wheel and tire, called her up with the total, and she met me the very next day to give me the cash. I guess i was lucky, unlike you, to have been hit by a non-asshole.

    Glad you escaped relatively unscathed. Take two glasses of unadulterated scotch, followed by three bong hits, and call me in the morning.

  5. Call Ray Thomas’s office inna hurry, if for some inexplicable reason you haven’t already. Oh yeah, they’ll tell you to stop freaking blogging about it…

  6. Always assume you are injured. I got ran over by an 89 year old lady who had to use a walker to get out of her car sitting stationary in my car in a turn lane boxed in by cars with nowhere to go. I had just answered the phone while I was sitting there waiting for the light to turn and helplessly watched the whole thing unfold as I narrated it to the person I was talking to. She ran over a stop sign and jumped right off the side walk and smashed the whole side of my car in. I didn’t think I was hurt so the cops refused to come. I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I hate doctors. I was fine at first but after a few days my neck and back were all fucked up. Even though I was in very good shape (gym 4-5x /wk) at the time and usually stay pretty healthy I have seriously had periodic problems with a spot on my lower back ever since then. I got paid a small settlement but it was a total pain in the ass and took a while.

    Isn’t it amusing how the cops will pull you over and want to search your vehicle for any minor (possibly nonexistent) traffic violation (especially in my hood) but they don’t even respond to a situation like this? The cabby could have been high as a kite. Moral to the story is it is good to go to the hospital and get it checked out regardless and go after his insurance company for reimbursement and bike repairs. You never really know how fucked up you are and you are not ambulance chasing in a situation where the other person was clearly at fault for assaulting you with a motor vehicle.

  10. I was hit by a car that resulted in five broken vertebrae in my neck and back. I, of course, was taken away in an ambulance.

    It was completely his fault, and no citation.

  12. If you had been in another car, your insurance company would be suing the taxi driver’s insurance company. Since you presumably were on an uninsured bicycle, it would seem you have no other recourse than to sue the bastard yourself. Not too many attorneys are willing to take a case on contingency, other than for medical malpractice, but maybe this will be an exception.

  13. actually if you have his insurance info (and possibly even if you don’t using your own car insurance PIP–which i believe applies to bicyclists) you have up to 15,000 dollars in medical benefits to get evaluated and treated, including acupuncture, chiropractic, massage etc.

  14. Something similar happened to my wife a few years ago. We were in a crosswalk, with the right of way, when someone made a left turn off NE Broadway and hit her. Luckily she was not hurt badly, but she did have neck, back, and knee problems for a few years.

    There were plenty of witnesses, some who voluntarily gave me their names and addresses. The cops? They didn’t care. They didn’t cite him. Our insurance company sued his insurance company, but he received no citation.

    I’m pretty sure pedestrians and cyclists have to die before the cops bother to do anything.

  16. Sorry that had to happen Dirk. We miss you at the Alibi. You’re a great reporter and this incident just shows it all. Call my friend Gregory Gudger — he has a Journalism Degree and a Law Degree and is a great guy and he sings, too! He and I have done Karaoke together. Reach him on Facebook as Gregory Gudger or Google him. He’s at 3800 NE Sandy. You will like him and he can fill you in on all the legal details. My best to you. Jason

  17. If you have a smartphone, take pictures, lots of pictures. Before either vehicle is moved. Assuming of course, that you are capable of functioning.

  21. From the sketch, it would appear that the taxi driver drove his cab the wrong way down a one way street, thus hitting the bike and cyclist head on. The police wrote up a report. It’s an easy win for Dirk, other than for the damages to his bike, and the delayed physiological, and neurological injuries to himself. He needs to see a doctor and a lawyer.

  25. By now I imagine the pain has set in. Go see a chiropractor, PT, accupuncturist, etc.

    On a completely unrelated note, a reasonable rule of thumb has it that insurance co’s often offer to settle for ~3x your documented medical expenses.

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