Cyclist Gets Back on Bike After Hit and Run Accident

After nearly being killed by a hit and run driver while biking near Olema in November, Fairfax resident Tom Lyons gave himself two months to not just get back on his feet, but to be ready to run with the San Francisco State cross-country team he coaches.

Despite six broken ribs, a broken collarbone, broken bones in his arms and hands, a concussion, and very little skin left on his face after the accident, when cross-country practice started in January Lyons tied on his shoes with the team.

“The good thing was I had the use of my legs,” said Lyons.

It took a community, said Lyons, for him to meet that goal. The running and biking community supported one of their own – bringing food, visiting, driving him to appointments. He even relied on his kids for simple tasks, like tying his shoes.

It’s hard to return to normal from any kind of accident. When normal includes what got you in the accident in the first place, it can be even harder to get back on the horse – or bike. But Lyons says he tries not dwell on it too much, not even on the fact that he has no idea who hit him and the police have no leads.

“All I was focused on was getting better,” he said.

Lyons and San Anselmo resident Steve Fredricks were out on a weekend bike ride on Nov. 14. They were headed home from Olema, biking downhill towards Samuel P. Taylor Park from the top of the Olema hill, when a white pick-up truck with a surfboard in the back side-swiped Lyons.

Fredricks, riding behind his friend, heard a car honking as it drove up behind them and saw the truck pass him, driving quickly, before cutting back in to the lane the two cyclists were in.

“In my opinion, he passed [Tom] to scare him,” said Fredricks, noting that the driver was being aggressive and honking as he approached. “I don’t think he intended to hit him; he intended to scare the crap out of him.”

The cyclists were on the right of the road, they both said, and single-file, without any other cyclists around them. Lyons even pointed out there are bumps and potholes in the road that make it nearly impossible to not ride on the far right. Despite that, the truck came dangerously close and fast. Fredricks watched the side mirror miss his friend by inches and then the back corner brushed Lyons as it went by and flipped him off his bike.

“That’s the last thing I remember,” said Lyons.

A woman walking her bike uphill on the opposite side of the road saw the accident and left Lyons a message on his phone shortly after he returned from the hospital. In the message, she recounts watching Lyons slide ten feet down the road and lay face down unconscious after coming to a stop. “I thought you were dead,” she said to him in her message.

Fredricks thought he had just watched his friend get killed too. But, after ten frantic minutes, Lyons regained consciousness. A passing driver called the ranger station and the ambulance quickly arrived.

But, one person didn’t stop: the driver.

Fredricks gave the CHP officers all the information he had – a white truck with a surfboard in the back – but wasn’t able to get a license plate number in the chaos following the accident. And, he said, the CHP never followed up with him after the accident. By the time the officers arrived, the driver was long gone.

“It’s really difficult with the fact no one saw the driver and there was no license plate number,” said CHP officer Ronald Chastain, who worked the case. 

Through his own investigative work, Lyons tracked down the name of a possible suspect from other people in the surfing community who came forward and gave that name to the CHP. But, he said, he never really heard back from the officers either.

Chastain said they spent 45 minutes interviewing the man and had no indication or evidence that he was the driver in the incident.

“We followed up on everything we could,” said Chastain. Now, there’s nothing left for the officers to do except hope someone turns themselves in.

Fortunately, while cycling accidents are relatively common – particularly in West Marin – “nine times out of ten” a driver will stop, said Chastain. “If someone knows they hit a biker, hopefully, they have a guilty conscience and come forward.”

Leslie Leone, a Mill Valley lawyer who has worked on a number of cycling cases, said that in the event of a hit and run accident it’s important for the cyclist to get a police report and preserve the evidence, such as taking photos of the scene or injuries. Typically, you can seek recovery under your own vehicular insurance for an uninsured motorist or for medical payments coverage, said Leone.

But, insurance payments won’t stop the accidents from happening in the first place.

Fredricks said he’s listened for years as the debate around hiking versus biking has gone on, and now he sees the same thing between cyclist and drivers. He’s making a personal plea for cyclists to do what they can to not irritate drivers on the road, because often the small rule infractions or large groups taking up the road lead to angry drivers, who then put lives at risk.

“People spend so much time being angry at each other instead of saying what can you do differently,” he said.

All the debate and anger and injuries aren’t stopping Lyons from riding. In February, the two of them finally finished the ride that they started back in November and he’s been going full-tilt since then. Almost.

“I keep expecting to fall,” said Lyons.