AUBURN TOWNSHIP — A rider who was struck in a hit-skip accident while participating in the VeloSano charity biking event Saturday is in fair condition as of Monday morning.
The rider was previously in serious condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
The 2nd annual event has now raised about 2.4 million dollars for cancer research at Cleveland Clinic, but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
Bradon Tucker, 26, was riding eastbound on Bartholomew Road in Auburn Township as part of the event to raise money for cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic.
Tucker, from South Euclid, failed to yield the right of way to a southbound vehicle and was struck.
The driver then drove off.
Tucker was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center for treatment.
“I’m praying for him, praying for his family so I know he’ll do well,” said Tucker’s teammate Caroline Elsanadi. “It’s stressful. The cycling community in Cleveland is very small and unfortunately drivers do not do a good job looking out for riders.”
“We rolled up on the incident 10 to 15 minutes after it happened,” said rider Damian Eduardos.
Several riders didn’t know Tucker but are part of that very small community.
“It was pretty bad so the bike was in the ditch and the wheel was off and down in the gutter so the wheel was blown completely off the bike,” said rider Kara Carter. “So the driver knew he hit someone and just drove away anyway, so it’s just unimaginable.”
“It just kind of sucks the energy out of you, and your heart drops,” said rider Joanne Cohen.
Tucker is a medical student at Case Western Reserve University. He and his wife are expecting their first child next month. A donation page has been setup to help Tucker’s family cover some of his medical bills.
Riders say this accident highlights a bigger problem.
“We have a right to be on the road, the same as anyone else,” said rider Morris Wheeler. “Motorist need to understand that and respect that. Motorist need to give three feet to cyclist and when a horrible accident happens like what happened this weekend happens, people cannot just jump and blame the cyclist.”
“It’s really frightening, really frightening,” said Carter. “Especially on a supported event with hundreds of riders out there. It could’ve been any of us.”
Tucker’s family issued the following statement on Sunday morning:
“We’d like to thank the Velisano volunteers at Aid Station 3 for their help during and after the accident, the MetroHealth staff for their care and the community for their support. We appreciate your prayers as Braden continues to recover and encourage anyone who knows information about the accident to contact police. for their support. We appreciate your prayers as Braden continues to recover and encourage anyone who knows information about the accident to contact police.”
There are no leads on the hit-skip driver or the suspect’s vehicle at this time.
The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The Cleveland Clinic issued a statement on Saturday, saying:
“For the safety of our riders, there are eleven medical stations along the planned routes staffed by a combination of Cleveland Clinic emergency medicine nurses, paramedics and physicians. Our thoughts and support are with the rider and family.”