A 49-year-old bike rider was seriously injured on Saturday when he steered into a ditch to avoid being struck head-on by a minivan east of Sammamish.
The Washington State Patrol is asking any witnesses to contact Detective Stacy Moate at 425-401-7746.
The injured man, identified as the Seattle P-I's bike blogger David Longdon, was among a group of cyclists training for the Cancer Care Alliance Starbucks Cycling Team. They were heading westbound on Redmond-Fall City Road (Route 202) near Ames Lake Road about 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
Witnesses said a red minivan — possibly a newer model Honda Odyssey — was heading eastbound at a high speed and veered into the westbound lanes to pass several vehicles. The cyclist had to steer off the road and into a ditch to avoid being struck, according to state police.
[KIRO-TV video report says all the cyclists, who were riding on the shoulder to the right of the fog line, bailed off the road when the van approached. KIRO identified the injured cyclist as Seattle P-I bike blogger David Longdon, who suffered a broken collarbone and wrist when he struck a concrete culvert.
Longdon wrote at his blog:
“Can I claim the dubious distinction of being the 1st Seattle area bike accident of 2010?”]
Longdon was taken to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, according to news accounts at the Seattle Times and KOMO.com.
In Washington, it's illegal to cross into the opposite lane when it's occupied by a car, bicycle or pedestrian.
The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Starbucks Cycling Team competes in bike races to raise money for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Survivorship Program. It has about 50 members, both men and women.
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