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5:39 a.m. • 2-10-12

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Raleigh cyclist says she was hit by car intentionally


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Katie McKeithan
Katie McKeithan

Every year, there are more than 900 crashes between motorists and bicycle riders in North Carolina. Most are thought to be accidental; however, a Raleigh cyclist said the driver that hit her over the weekend did it intentionally.

"I think my bike went up and flipped,” Katie McKeithan said.

McKeithan said she was pedaling along Old US 1 in Chatham County Saturday afternoon when a car struck her.  She suffered cuts and bruises to her arms, shoulders and legs.

"This is a large knot and there is a knot behind my knee,” she described.

To make matters worse, McKeithan said she believes a passenger in the car purposely opened a door to be sure it would hit her.

The people who struck McKeithan did not stop and have not been caught.

"It is getting scary with some of the traffic out there,” said Dave Naderman, manager of Raleigh's Trek Bicycle Store.

Naderman said high gas prices has more people bicycling, and the competition between cyclist and motorist for the road is getting dangerous.

"Probably in the past three-months, I could say, I know four to five people that have personally been hit,” Naderman added.

Like, McKeithan, those victims survived their crashes. However, others have not, like Nancy Antoine Leidy.

Police said she was struck and killed while riding her bicycle near the North Carolina State University. Brian Anthony Reid was charged with driving while impaired, felony assault by motor vehicle and failure to reduce speed in the April incident.

"I flip between anger and absolute blessed I am still here," McKeithan said of surviving her crash.

McKeithan also said she believes the car the hit her was a charcoal-gray Chrysler 300M with a license plate that began with the letters 'X Y T.'

If you have any information that can help authorities find the people who hit McKeithan, call the Raleigh Police Department’s Detective Division at 919-890-3555 or Crime Stoppers at 919-226-CRIME.

RELATED TOPICS: Chatham County, Raleigh, NC State University

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Or simply choose not to drive for conservation's sake.

"There are plenty of trails and greenways where the cyclists do not have to share the road with anyone except other cyclists or pedestrians. Why do they feel it necessary to risk their lives to ride on the highway. I ride my bicycle on greenways for just that reason."

Vet, I ride my bicycle to get to work, to get to the grocery store, to get to a restaurant to eat dinner. We all aren't just recreational cyclists. You have to provide people with alternatives to driving a car everywhere. As oil price and scarcity increases there will be a growing percentage of the population that cannot afford to drive.

Even as a cyclist, or maybe more so as a cyclists, I would have been frustrated by those 3. I can see times when riding 3 across could facilite passing though, you can pass all 3 in one short movement across the center line.

Last weekend there were three cyclists riding side by side on a 45 MPH road in Apex. The one that was riding towards the center of the road was talking on a cell phone. Three cars back, my wife and I drove 15mph waiting for the cards in front to cross the yellow center line and pass.

I really didn't care, it was the weekend, I had my coffee and was chilling out. But there are enough goofball drivers out there that would get angry at a few folks having a leasurely ride. On that note that's why I also stay off the road on a bike. Too many angry drivers in general looking for the slightest thing to get angry about.

"There are plenty of trails and greenways where the cyclists do not have to share the road with anyone except other cyclists or pedestrians. Why do they feel it necessary to risk their lives to ride on the highway. I ride my bicycle on greenways for just that reason." There are miles and miles of roadways where bicyclists cannot drive. I don't understand why a motor vehicle would feel the need to travel on anything else if they don't feel comfortable sharing the road. Unless the freeway doesn't take them where they're going, which, incidentally, is the same reason I don't use the greenway. Sure, it's nice and pretty, and there are no cars, but at the end of it, I've failed to get where I was going.

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