I witnessed a biker crash and was the first responder.

Today was interesting, I was coming home from my chiropractor and stopped at the lights of Anne and Livingstone in Barrie, I was behind a car who was making a right turn as I wanted to do also. The light was red and as i watched from behind, he engaged to make his right turn when a young 20 year old biker was crossing on his green light through the intersection at a nominal speed. the driver braked as the biker swerved just missing being hit! The driver then proceed to drive on passing the biker again as I stop at the corner then proceed to make my right turn onto Livingstone. As I accelerated and started to catch up to the biker who was in the curb lane with the driver of the van in front of him and I was on the inside lane, I was about to slow up beside the biker and roll down my passenger window to say something to him like what an A-hole the driver was! ...But instead as I caught up to the biker with the van driving  in front of him, I noticed the biker having words at the driver in front of him, like cussing him out! not that the driver could hear him, it looked to me a natural reaction of anger, talking out loud getting it out, if you know what I mean?

So I just drove by the two, but keeping an eye on them in my rear view mirror as I passed the van. I then noticed the driver was slowing with the biker still behind him riding pretty fast, I would estimate 30-35kph based on the speed I was driving by them. I didn't really notice but I think the driver was signaling to make a right turn into a driveway, his driveway!  But then it looked to me the driver stopped suddenly and the biker quickly puts his brakes on while swerving to try to avoid the van, but instead with a loud bang! he hits the back window and corner of the van with his bike and body with a loud thud, shattering the back window of the van to pieces and putting a dent in the rear of the van as well as smashing the left driver side tail light! His body crumbled down to the ground as his bike flung off to the side with one of his carbon aero bars snapping off his bike and dropped in the middle of the inside line. 

I then stopped, check for traffic and pull a u-turn around and pull up back behind the van and biker.  I jump out of my car and asked the biker if he was OK as he stood up grabbing his arm in pain. The driver got out of his car at the same time to access the damage, and looked bewildered! he said he was just turning into his driveway and the biker rammed into his van!  The biker, now standing wincing in pain shows me his right arm as he had his left  hand over a deep gash with blood pouring out. He asked if I had something to wrap around. I quickly went back to my car and grabbed a roll of paper towel I keep in the trunk and pull out a length of paper towel and fold it into a big square for a compression bandage to place over the wound and told him to hold and compress, then I grabbed more paper towel and placed over top of the blood soaked first compression towel to stop the bleeding which it seemed to be stopping.

 At this time a city worker in his recycle truck pulls up and stops to see if he can help. I yelled at him to call 911 as I don't have a cell. He called 911 and the ambulance fire and police came within 10min.

While waiting for the ambulance another man from one of the houses came by with a towel which he wrapped over top of the compressing towels that were in place and I proceeded to talk to the biker, which I found out his name , which was Brad I think? I'm bad with names, lol and his age, 20, and asked if he was hurt anywhere else? which he said his shoulder, which I could see was scrapped but not bleeding. I ask if he could move his fingers, which he showed me he could. Then he says to me while sitting on the curb, I have a race on Sunday! I said really which one? he said The Victoria Duathlon in Waterloo Ont,. I said yes I know that race as part of the Subaru series, and told him I was a triathlete myself. I then told him not to worry, a few stitches in your arm and you'll be good as new! ...but I said your bike is a different story!  I said i hope you have a back up bike, which he commented, yes!  The ambulance arrived and I stepped aside as they looked at him and then got him in the ambulance to take to the hospital. 

While the paramedics where accessing Brad one of the fireman say to me hey Joe! I look over and it's a friend and tri club member, Fire chief Kevin White, we start talking and i tell him what happened then we talked about biking ect. lol  Then I turned to the policeman and gave him my information as a witness in which he said he will call me later if need be.

Well, as I see it, and saw it! I say Brad was lucky with no serious injury, just some stitches in his forearm. but also I see it as Brad was destine to be in a bike accident today!  He is very lucky! because I think if he was hit at the intersection he would have been worse off!... and as fate would have it he lucked out there but was destined to get knocked down some time today no mater what!  which happened not one or two minutes later with less seriousness or even death!

As for who was at fault? I think the driver of the van was aware of  Brad behind him since he almost hit him at the corner while he was attempting to make a turn into his driveway, and being aware, I think he stopped rather then making the right turn into his driveway because I think he tough the biker brad was going to ride though along side of him along the curb, ....but at the same time I think Brad was thinking the van was turning right into the driveway so he would go around the outside of the van, but the van stopped suddenly and with Brad speed and the sudden stopping, Brad didn't have time to react slamming his brakes and enviably slamming into the back of the van as I saw it!

:)