The student cyclist who collided with a University Transit van around9 p.m. on Wednesday was released from the hospital early Thursdaymorning after being treated for minor injuries.
George Franklin, chemical engineering sophomore, said he was givenfour stitches above his left eye and was treated for a bruisedshoulder, broken wrist, and a burn on his left hip from the van’stailpipe.
Franklin said he moved to the sidewalk off Dalrymple Drive because ofthe high volume of car traffic. As he approached the intersection atInfirmary Road, he saw the transit van turning right onto InfirmaryRoad.
Franklin said he was traveling around 15 mph and was unable to stop. Hsaid he was thrown over the bike’s handlebars while braking. The vanwas already in the crosswalk.
“I landed underneath it,” Franklin said. “And it ran over me with theback right tire.”
A driver and 3 passengers were in the van, to which no damage wasdone, LSU Police Department Capt. Russell Rogé said.
Timothy Gonzales, computer science sophomore, was riding the campustransit van when the cyclist hit the vehicle.
“Once we heard him screaming she, the driver stopped right there,”Gonzales said. “And she called for help. She did everything shepossibly could.”
Crosswalks are intended to be used only by pedestrians, Rogé said.Cyclists should be riding on the road following general traffic laws,Rogé said. A cyclist must get off the bike and walk across thecrosswalk because the bicycle’s speed prevents drivers from havingadequate time to see a cyclist entering the cross walk, Rogé said.
No citations were issues, but the police report does identify Franklinas disobeying a traffic control device, Rogé said.
Franklin said he still plans to ride his bike around campus. He saidhe thinks the University is cyclist-friendly and only some driverscause problems.
“If there was a bike lane, I would have been riding in it,” Franklinsaid. “But it wasn’t the driver’s fault. I shouldn’t have been goingso fast so late at night, nor should I have been riding in thecrosswalk.”