A cyclist on a Saturday morning excursion was seriously injured after crashing her bike during an encounter with an SUV driver in Poolesville.
Three members of the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club were eastbound on the two-lane River Road near Old River Road when a silver, mid-sized SUV approached and the driver began honking the horn, said Willy Aladro, who was riding behind two women.
The group was pedaling single-file and Aladro said he faded back, and the SUV driver swerved and honked at the second cyclist, who also backed off.
The SUV then swerved toward the lead rider, who braked and crashed, Aladro said.
County police said Monday they are continuing to look for the SUV’s driver. It was not clear if the vehicle hit the rider. The SUV driver then turned left onto Old River Road, Aladro said.
The cyclist is in the hospital with several broken bones, a collapsed lung and a possible traumatic brain injury, said Kim Lamphier, advocacy director of the nonprofit group Bike Maryland.
“It’s incidents like these that have led Maryland to pass Vision Zero statewide and to recognize the penalties for this type of recklessness and negligence need to be increased,” Lamphier said.
Vision Zero is a public awareness and education campaign to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.
The family is not releasing any personal information about the women, though Aladro said she’s a county resident. He added that she’s in critical but stable condition, and there was “hopeful improvement” on Monday morning.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
