Woman cyclist is in critical condition after she was hit by a truck along the intersection of Parkdale Avenue and Ruskin Street near the Civic Hospital.
Saving a life
According to the police, Ottawa paramedics responded to a call to the intersection about 8:30 in the morning. A woman cyclist was severely injured. Both the cyclist and the truck are going to the north direction when suddenly the driver of the truck decided to turn right on the Ruskin Street and that resulted to striking the woman cyclist.
Investigators in the area interviewed some bystanders who were in the area during the incident and trying to determine who had the right way during the collision.
Paramedics and staff of the Civic Hospital immediately went out and helped provide first aid to the woman. The woman cyclist about in her 20’s suffered severe injuries to her chest, legs and the abdomen.
According to spokesperson for the Ottawa Paramedic Service, Marc-Antione Deschamps, said the truck had to be moved so that first responders could free the cyclist who was trapped in the truck. The woman was conscious when paramedics immediately brought her to the trauma center of the hospital. Police continue investigating the incident.
According to Martha Teaffe who lives in Parkdale Avenue about 3 blocks from where the incident happened, said she was not surprised to hear about the incident. Traffic in the area became congested since the Carling Avenue on-ramp to Highway 417 was closed for good. Furthermore Teaffe said that when there is lot congestion, people are on the rush to get into work on time or to go somewhere and they become pressured to move quicker. A person that’s in the margin becomes forgotten or not seen at all and becomes hit or struck.
A cyclist named Becky Petronella suggested building a bike lane in the area. It could help improve safety for the cyclist and other people. The streets in these areas are so busy; a hospital just near the area and Petronella thinks that bike lane could a good first start. The areas were the incident happened was temporarily closed and later was again opened back to traffic.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a course on first aid and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/bleeding-cuts-wounds