North Carolina Bicyclist and Brain Injury Awareness Advocate Dies After Accident With Van During Charity Bike Ride
Lee Anne Barry, the founder and executive director of the BIG Ride, a non-profit bike tour that travels around the country to promote brain injury awareness, died from motor vehicle-related injuries on Sunday, at Carolinas Medical Center. Barry, a North Carolina resident, was riding her bike during the cross-country charity bike ride she had organized when she was involved in an accident with a van on US 521, close to Lancaster County yesterday afternoon. Thomas Hoskins, a Columbia, South Carolina resident and also a cyclist, died at the accident scene.
If someone you love was a cyclist who was killed in a motor vehicle crash because of the negligence of a motorist or another party in North Carolina or South Carolina, you should speak with an experienced wrongful death lawyer right away.
Barry had been a strong advocate of brain injury awareness, ever since she was struck by a car when she was five. She spent months in a coma before having to relearn how to talk and walk. She had brain surgery at age 15, which allowed her to get back most of her physical agility and strength.
Unfortunately, a bicycle accident can lead to catastrophic injuries for the cyclist, who doesn’t have much protection against the force of impact when struck by a car, bus, or truck or being thrown onto the road.
Common scenarios that can lead to personal injury accidents involving cyclists and motorists:
• Bicyclist does not yield the right-of-way
• Motor vehicle driver does not yield the right-of-way
• Bicyclist merges or turns into the path of the motor vehicle
• Motorist merges or turns into the bath of the cyclists
• Motor vehicle driver tries to overtake a bike
Every year, over 1000 bicyclists in North Carolina are involved in motor vehicle crashes, with 30 of these cyclists dying from their injuries; 160 others suffer from serious injuries. South Carolina ranks as one of the “Top 10” US states with the highest number of per capita deaths of bicyclists and pedestrians. 16 people were killed in bicycle-motor vehicle accidents in South Carolina in 2005.
Two die in charity bike ride accident, Charlotte Observer, October 22, 2007
North Carolina Bicycle Crash Data, Pedbikeinfo.org
Bicycling Crashes : Crash Types, Bicyclinginfo.org
The Need for Bike and Pedestrian Facilities, SCDOT
Related Web Resources:
In North Carolina and South Carolina, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo represents personal injury clients who have been injured in motor vehicle crashes as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, motor vehicle drivers, and motor vehicle passengers because of another party’s negligence. We have helped many injury clients obtain compensation for their injuries. We have also helped family members recover wrongful death compensation for the death of their loved ones in motor vehicle crashes.
Contact the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP today and ask for your free consultation.
