Flickr photo: NateShow From SF Citizen via Eyes on Blogs comes word of a nasty collision between a bicyclist and an SUV driver in Golden Gate Park Wednesday. The photographer who snapped these shots described the crash on his Flickr post:
The driver of this SUV (apparently not from the area), was backing up in traffic to correct an incorrect turn, and backed right into the cyclist (unidentified), who took a dive through the truck's rear window and briefly lost consciousness. When I arrived, SFFD was on the scene and working on the cyclist, who had regained consciousness and was speaking with EMTs. He was put in a neck brace, loaded onto the ambulance and sent off to SF General. Confidence was high the cyclist would recover. SFPD were also on scene taking witness statements.
Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, an SFPD spokesperson, said the driver kicked into reverse after an illegal u-turn:
This occurred on 9/16/09 at 11:33 am, on JFK west of Kezar. SUV driver was a Marin resident and the cyclist lives in SF. The driver of the SUV was making an illegal U turn and then had to back up to complete that turn. That is when the cyclist was stuck and went through the rear window. (Thank God he was wearing a helmet - which absorbed most of the impact) There was an independent witness who stayed on scene, and the cyclist was taken to SFGH for treatment. He was interviewed at SFGH, but did not recall the incident. The driver was at fault in this case.
Tomioka said the driver was not cited at the scene for unsafe backing (California Vehicle Code 22106) or speeding. See additional photos after the break.
Flickr photo: 
