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After 2600 Mile Trek, Michigan Cyclist Hit Close to Home

Ann Arbor native Jon Olson was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy about six years ago. This May, he started a cross country bicycle trip in order to raise awareness and money for research to change the future for people with neuromuscular diseases. He started out at the Pacific Ocean in the coast of Oregon crossed that large state, cut through Idaho, went the full width of Montana and North Dakota, obliquely sliced through the big states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, where he perhaps made the mistake of taking the Lake Express Car Ferry to Muskegon rather than the SS Badger to Ludington.

For as he proceeded through the rural roads of Eaton County, less than a day's ride away from his home, his plans on reaching that home, and the endpoint of his odyssey in New York City, were shattered when he and a bicycling companion were hit and suffered serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries. This was first reported in the local media outlet WILX. Details seemed awfully sketchy and may have led readers of the story to believe that Jon and the other cyclist was at fault:

"Michigan State Police say both he and the man he was riding with were hit at the intersection of Island Highway and Gunnell Rd. around nine this morning."

It repeats that later on. Fortunately, later reports from MLive came with a picture of the accident that shows the scattered remains of a couple of bicycles with a recognizable barn in the backdrop. The debris is scattered a fair distance making one think these poor travelers were hit from behind by somebody going at a full clip:

Through the magic of Google maps, we can locate that area as several hundred yard east of the intersection, not at the intersection:

The updated story notes: "The 60-year-old retired journalist was struck from behind in Eaton Rapids Township on Thursday... The initial investigation suggests the driver didn’t see the two cyclists on the roadway."

The initial investigation according to the only news source that commented on it in the first 24 hours without any edits actually said it happened at an intersection. Beyond that, the sun rose before 7 AM that day, the accident happened at 9:30 AM, the sun would have been too high in the sky to really cause an issue by blinding the driver. The conditions were otherwise excellent, and there is nothing that would block a driver paying attention from seeing these bicyclists from a long ways away.

Jon Olson's dream of crossing the country on his bicycle this summer will never be realized as Olson has several fractured bones and a lacerated kidney. His dreams of raising $100,000 for Muscular Dystrophy research has at least been attained.

His riding partner fractured his leg in multiple places and had severe swelling. Needless to say, the distracted driver was left uninjured, and faces no charge yet for his mayhem. And likely never will. And this is why this scene will be replayed over and over again even when Michigan law says a vehicle must pass a bicyclist with at least three feet to spare. The police and media do not respect the law when it is there to protect the vulnerable users of the road, and partly to blame for that is a careless state legislature that could have made the law meaningful.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by shinblind on August 24, 2019 at 10:24am

Between the first 2 photos the road looks recently resurfaced, no determination if chip sealing the roadway would have been a factor for either the bicyclists or the driver.

If Google maps are to be believed the date shows to be October 2018 for the second photo.

A minor point but the accident happened to the west of the second photo. Back where the houses to the North are.

Also found this: https://bikeportland.org/2016/06/08/odot-to-bicycle-riders-heres-yo...