Two more cyclists received minor injuries after being struck by cars in the past two days on or near Commonwealth Avenue. The bikers’ injuries were not serious enough to warrant hospital care.
A College of Arts and Sciences junior was struck on St. Paul’s Street near Commonwealth Avenue by a pickup truck as he rode to lunch at Warren Towers after leaving the Holiday Inn in Brookline on Wednesday afternoon.
Rory O’Huiginn said he was biking down St. Paul’s Street alongside a black pickup truck when the vehicle turned right onto a side street, colliding with him and knocking him to the ground.
O’Huiggin said he hit his head on the curb, but because he was wearing a helmet, he did not sustain serious injuries. He had a cut on his ankle and bruises on his arm.
“I was fighting off getting hit for awhile before we made contact, and the back of the truck clipped me,” he said.
O’Huiginn said the collision occurred because the driver turned without using a turn signal. After O’Huiginn fell, the trucker drove off without stopping. The driver did not appear to notice the collision, he said.
A witness in a car who pulled over to check on O’Huiginn told him it looked as though he was about to go under the truck.
Police were not called to the scene because O’Huiginn said he “wasn’t really banged up” and he did not want to involve insurance companies.
O’Huiginn said he usually feels in control when biking, but he now feels a little unsteady.
“It’s certainly more scary to bike now that I got hit,” O’Huiginn said. “I’m going to continue wearing my helmet. I don’t care if it looks lame.”
In a separate incident last night, Amit Gupta, 25, collided with a car on Commonwealth Avenue by the BU Central T stop around 6:30 p.m. while biking from Ashford Street to his Cambridge home.
Gupta said he did not need medical help, though he scraped his knees, which were bleeding, from a “hard fall.” Gupta told the driver his bike was not damaged.
Gupta was clipped by a car turning right into the parking lot next to Guitar Center as he rode behind the vehicle, both traveling East.
The driver and passenger of the car appeared to be an elderly couple. The driver declined to comment, but his passenger, who did not give her name, said Gupta “was bombing down the bridge and didn’t see us. We had the turn signal on.”
Gupta said he was unsure how the collision happened or was responsible.
Police arrived shortly after the incident but declined to comment. Police told the driver there appeared to be scratches and minor damages on the front of the car.
Gupta said he is familiar with biking near his residence in Cambridge, where there are clearly marked bike lanes cyclists are required to use. Police issue tickets to bikers if they ride on sidewalks, he said.
Gupta said the ongoing construction on the BU campus could have contributed to his collision because there are no bike lanes on Commonwealth Avenue, so he was unsure where to ride.
“It’s a bum deal for bikers,” he said.
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