Hit and run victim emphasizes safety importance
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bicyclists make up 2% of total traffic deaths. When a hit and run happens, that number goes up to 8%.
David Blank is living proof of how close the difference between life and death can be in those traffic incidents.
Blank, a Fox Chapel resident, has recently spoken about the need for awareness around the safety of bike riders. On Wednesday, June 4, he was hit by a sedan while he was biking on Ekastown Road in Clinton Township. He said the sedan was probably going at least 50 mph before the hit-and-run crash.
“It was a beautiful day and I was halfway through my ride. I just turned around. Typically I would have gone west on that road but I turned around. Fateful decision I guess,” Blank said.
Blank has been biking long distances for over 30 years. Among his longer rides, he notes having ridden in a loop to West Virginia, Ohio and back to Pennsylvania, about 112 miles total. His average ride probably lasts 30 to 40 miles, he said.
He was 23 miles into his ride June 4 and was planning to do around 50 miles that day. His 8-year-old son was in camp during the day, so the timing was perfect.
Blank was going well over 20 mile per hour on his bike. All of a sudden, while turning around on Ekastown Road, a dark-colored sedan came out of nowhere. He got hit and flipped over the car.
“It was safe. It was clear, so I turned and didn’t think anything of it,” Blank said. “They didn’t even try to stop. They just blew through me. My brain couldn’t even comprehend it until I was halfway into the air.”
In the crash, Blank separated his shoulder. He also got a gash on the left side of body, which he thinks was from his bike hitting him as he was flying through the air. The right side of his body also continues to be in pain.
Because he was riding a carbon fiber bike, his wheel exploded when he got hit.
When it happened, Blank pulled himself off the road, tried to get up and look for the drivers plate, but was in pain and laid back down. People around immediately ran over to assist him. Luckily, he called 911 through his watch.
He got X-rays and CT scans at St. Margaret Hospital, near Pittsburgh. He goes back in two weeks to get checked out and to see if he tore something in his shoulder.
In the past, Blank broke a collar bone mountain biking. He got hit by a car once, but saw it out of the corner of his eye, held on and stayed on the bike. He’s been in other scares, like getting cut off by buses on the road. But this incident has made him think a lot about being safe.
There are things as minor as making sure helmets are up to date and strapped tight. After all, Blank said, that probably saved his life.
Another personal safety tip that Blank said he and other bike riders abide by is not trying to ride along the white line of the side of the road or completely off the road. In theory, he said, the biker should be more into the lane, to give himself more room and separation from the cars.
“I think I learned from this I was probably riding not too safe. Thinking back now, I probably should have been more in the road, taking up more space, instead of giving the car more space. Maybe that could have helped me,” Blank said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, important safety tips include wearing a helmet that properly fits; riding a properly sized bike; wearing equipment to protect you and make you more visible to others, such as a bike helmet, bright clothing and reflective gear; Tucking and tying your shoe laces and pant legs so they don’t get caught in your bike chain; planning a route ahead of time; and riding defensively, focused and alert.
Pennsylvania State Police have previously said anyone with information relating to the hit and run should call their local barracks.
