NEWBURYPORT — Police remain on the lookout for the driver of what they believe is a gray Mini Cooper who hit a bicyclist Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Pond and High streets.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the victim, a 68-year-old Methuen man, was in stable condition at a Boston-area hospital, according to police.
Lt. Matthew Simons asked that anyone in the High, State and Pond Street areas check their home security cameras to see if they can spot anything that might be helpful in the case.
“We believe the suspect vehicle may have some damage to the front passenger side where the collision took place,” he said in a text message.
Asked how the crash occurred, Simons said the victim was struck while riding with two other cyclists.
“It was a group of three of them traveling eastbound on High Street,” he said. “They were crossing the intersection with Pond Street. The suspect vehicle was coming westbound on High Street, making a left-hand turn across traffic on to Pond Street. That’s where the collision occurred. So the bicycle definitely had the right of way.”
After striking the cyclist, the driver sped away toward Route 1.
Moments after the collision, the victim could be seen on his back barely moving but conscious. Several people quickly surrounded him, including one good Samaritan who kept oncoming vehicles away from the crash scene. A High Street resident rushed across the street with a blanket and draped it over the victim. First responders arrived shortly thereafter and stabilized him before placing him inside an Atlantic ambulance.
Police rapidly put out a be-on-the lookout alert to other area departments, but the driver had yet to be found by Wednesday afternoon. Authorities also spoke to the victim’s wife.
Simons said police were still trying to confirm the make and model of the car.
“But it was definitely a smaller-style car similar to a Mini Cooper,” he said.
Simons said officers were still canvassing the area, as well as re-interviewing witnesses for more information about the hit-and-run driver.
“I’m hesitant to say if it was a man or a woman, since we still haven’t determined that yet,” he said.
Well before Tuesday’s crash, the city had been discussing the intersection, according to Mayoral Chief of Staff Andrew Levine.
He said the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee last broached the matter at its Aug. 8 meeting when a resident asked the city to increase safety there.
“It did come up but not as dangerous for bikers,” he said. “But we’re looking at a ‘do not block the box’ kind of thing there. This would be markings at the intersection where folks are lining up, because there’s a light coming up. Those tend to have long lines and they don’t want you blocking the intersection. So they would paint the road there.”
The city, according to Levine wants to make sure that all streets and intersections are safe for all modes of transportation.
“Obviously, this is a terrible incident,” he said. “We will be looking into what happened and trying to find ways to make it safer.”
For years, workers at Riverside Cycle in The Tannery Marketplace have heard stories about cyclists navigating dicey downtown spots and their interactions with aggressive motorists.
Ryan Conner rides to work at the bike shop from West Newbury and past the High and Pond Street intersection almost every day.
He said the intersection can be a tough fit.
“It’s concerning,” Conner said. “There’s a bike lane both ways but it seems like it’s especially tight going west. “
Challenges abound across the city for bicyclists, according to Conner, who said he has more trouble at the Spofford Street traffic circle near the Amesbury border.
“I’ve run into more angry motorists by the Chain Bridge over there than I have over here,” he said. “But I’ve worked here for 14 years and really have only been yelled at once by a motorists in all this time. That’s not to say everybody else has the same experience.”
Another employee at Riverside Cycle, Christopher Scott of Amesbury, said he has had plenty of run-ins with motorists while bicycling over the years.
“Motorists are just getting more and more impatient, even though we have just as much right to be out there as they do,” he said. “Someone threw a frappe on me one day.”
Scott added he’s running into plenty of cyclists of late looking to buy bicycles that get them out of traffic completely.
“They’re tired of competing for space on the roads,” he said. “So they’re buying mountain and gravel bikes that allow them to get off the road and to some place like Maudslay State Park, where they don’t have to worry about cars and trucks.”
Daily News editor Dave Rogers contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
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Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
