Update on bicyclist Doug Wood, injured in Admiral crash

That clip from the West Seattle-based site Bike Hugger was pointed out to us by Liz, sister-in-law of Doug Wood, identified by family members as the bicycle rider who was rescued from beneath a car after a collision on Admiral Way Thursday morning (here’s our original report) – the clip features him being interviewed on his “banana” bike. Liz e-mailed today to say, “I just spoke to his wife (my sister Laura) and Doug is doing well today. His three youngest children (he has six altogether) were able to visit him today for the first time, which lifted his spirits greatly.” We then got a short note later from Laura Wood, who provided a link to more information about her husband, focusing on his work with pianos. (She had joined the discussion in the comment section following our Thursday report [here and here], as did the wife of the driver with whom her husband collided.) Formal results of the investigation into the crash aren’t likely to be available for quite some time.

great May 22, 2010 (8:41 pm)

So glad he survived that crash! It’s amazing. Great work by the rescuers too. There hasn’t been a lot said about the ‘how’ of the crash but it seems like maybe he was going downhill with a slight turn and he bike lost control and slid under the car? I hope he has a fast recovery, seems like a very nice person.

sacatosh May 22, 2010 (9:43 pm)

Best wishes to both families involved. May healing be swift.

JanS May 22, 2010 (9:55 pm)

Great…seems that the driver was turning left from the little road that goes from Avalon to go up Admiral Way, and he did not see the biker in all the traffic as he rides really low. It was rush hour, so a lot of cars. Fault? I really think that it was truly an accident, maybe a little of fault on both sides. No one really did anything “wrong”, it seems. They just didn’t do it completely right.

Glad that Mr. Wood is doing better.

great May 22, 2010 (10:49 pm)

Not looking for fault – that is why accidents happen right? Thanks for the note!

22blades May 23, 2010 (6:54 am)

Best wishes for a speedy & complete recovery. (Found the piece (& his website) on his work on pianos fascinating. Thanks.)

huindekmi May 23, 2010 (9:37 am)

From all accounts, the biker was riding with traffic, at the speed of traffic, in a legal lane. It may have been an accident, but the fault will still lie with the party who did not have the right of way — the driver in this case.

One other point: if the driver didn’t see that big yellow bike, then he would have also missed a scooter, small motorcycle, etc.

Born To Be Mild May 23, 2010 (12:17 pm)

I thought that someone stopped to allow the SUV to make the left turn. If that is true (and I certainly don’t know) the responsibility could be different. I know I should be more interested in the injured, but I’m more interested in who made the error. It’s not an accident, it is a collision caused by human error.

Cathy May 23, 2010 (12:50 pm)

I am so sad that this happened. My husband also is a 50/50 commuter on his bike. It is hard not to worry about him at times. Sometimes he rides home late at night. He takes precautions and is lit up like a disco ball. Accidents can still happen.

If you need anything please let the folks at WSB know. I am willing to deliver a meal, walk a dog ect. Just please ask for help if you need it.

Prayers/thoughts/vibes for a quick and speedy recovery.

Laura Wood May 23, 2010 (3:03 pm)

Thanks again for the wonderful community support.

JAT May 24, 2010 (2:42 pm)

Born to be Mild – that was my presupposition, given the time of the crash, that Mr. Wood had zipped through a gap in otherwise bumper to bumper downhill traffic, but huindekmi is right; all accounts here have suggested he was in the correct lane travelling at the same speed as the other vehicles.

I think the cycling community (to the extent such a thing exists) is growing opposed to the use of the term accident for just the very reason that it implies blameless unavoidability and conceptually absolves motorists of any responsibility for the damage done to more vulnerable road users.

Now I’m not advocating special rights or protections for the self-propelled; some people think we’re freeloaders as it is, but I hasten to point out that however personally freaked out I might be by recumbent bikes, their profile is really no lower than a Corvette or Ferrari, and your insurance company and the police aren’t going to say “it was just an accident” if you plow into one of those.

jephthah May 24, 2010 (10:15 pm)

Breaking News: yet another oversized SUV critically injures yet another bicyclist. Community lets out collective shrug.

WSB May 24, 2010 (10:17 pm)

Was that another crash? When did it happen? If you mean this one, this was just a followup story. No shrugging on the original all-day coverage, 127 comments is high for a breaking-news story:
https://westseattleblog.com/2010/05/crash-blocks-admiral-way-at-the-bridge