Bicyclist injuries up sharply in metro area

On the morning of Sept. 17, Rodney Scroggins was riding his bicycle to work when he was hit by a motorist. His next stop was Hennepin County Medical Center where two weeks later he is still in serious condition being treated for a dislocated shoulder, broken bones and other internal injuries.

Scroggins' case is one of the more serious bike crash injuries doctors at HCMC have seen this year, and they have seen their share. Through July, the hospital has admitted 88 bicyclists needing treatment resulting from crashes. That number is expected to well surpass the 115 the hospital had for all of 2007 when data for final two months of summer are tabulated. By contrast, there were 77 for the year in 2003, 90 in 2004, 79 in 2005 and 84 in 2006.

"It's up quite a bit from previous years," said Greg Kassmir, data manager for the Trauma Services department.

The same is true at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, which has seen a record 50 victims involved in bike-vehicle crashes from May through August. There were only 28 last year.

"We have never treated this many bike-related injuries in one summer," said Alison Pence, coordinator of the hospital's Injury Prevention Program.

Regions Hospital in St. Paul said that compared to last year the number of bicyclist vs car injuries seen in its emergency department are up 30 percent - a total of 61 cases between January and August.

Except for Regions, those numbers include only those treated for major injuries such as broken bones, fractured wrists and fingers, internal injuries and head injuries, officials said. Regions also included scrapes, cuts and sprains in its data.

Four bicyclists have died this month as a result of collisions with motor vehicles. Jimmy Nisser, 65, of St. Louis Park, was killed when he was struck by a vehicle Sept. 11 while riding on Excelsior Blvd. near 32nd Street. Dale Aanenson was killed Sept. 22 in Blaine. Nicholas Hector Fabio Morton, 18, of Minneapolis, was killed while biking last Tuesday on 5th Street near Nicollet Mall. Virginia Heuer Bower died from injuries she sustained when she was hit while riding Saturday on Summit Avenue in St. Paul.

With bicycling becoming a more popular mode of transportation, form of exercise, and cities upgrading bike paths and adding bike lanes and bike racks, more and more citizens are opting to pedal their two-wheeler and leave their car at home. A recent U.S. Census report showed that about 7,200 or 3.8 percent of Minneapolis resident biked to work last year, up from about 4,840 or 2.5 percent in 2006. The report listed Minneapolis as the fastest-growing city for bicycle commuting.

With more bikes on the roads, there is a potential for more accidents, said Julie Philbrook, who works in the Trauma Services department at HCMC "People are now riding for transportation," she said. "People didn't used to ride downtown and drivers are not looking for bikes. But bicyclists need to play by and follow the rules of the road."

So far this year, Minneapolis police have responded to 208 bicycle-vehicle crashes and 187 of them have involved an injury to either the bicyclist or the vehicle driver, according to Don Pflaum, the city's transportation coordinator.

"Everybody needs to pay more attention, both the bicycle and the driver," Pflaum said. "A lot of crashes can be avoided."

Pflaum said bikers should be safe and be smart and follow traffic laws. He also recommended that they wear reflective clothing and use lights and wear helmets.

The helmet message was loudly echoed by other emergency room physicians:

"A helmet can turn a tragedy into a temporary inconvenience" said Dr. Brent Asplin, director of emergency medicine at Regions Hospital.

As for motorists, they need to watch their speed and "expect to see bicyclists," said Pflaum.

Perhaps the alarming statistic is the fact that there have been 47 hit and run accidents involving bicycles and motor vehicles in Minneapolis this year. Police are still looking for the drivers who hit Nisser and Scroggins.

Statewide in 2005, the Minnesota Department of Health recorded 614 injuries resulting from collisions involving bicycles and motor vehicles with 471 in the seven-county metro area. In 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were 581 statewide and 432 in the metro area.

It doesn't take much for a serious injury or death to occur when a bicyclist is involved in an accident, said Dr. Rob Reardon, who works in emergency medicine at HCMC.

"Biking is dangerous," he said. "You don't have to be going very fast to get hurt or have a severe head injury. It only takes a split second to change your life."

Staff writer Josephine Marcotty contributed to this report