OBRA members,

Saturday, around noon, I was one of four cyclists descending the hill on Hwy 219 North (Hillsboro - Newberg Highway), a little west of Scholls in Washington County. We were 40 miles into a 65 mile training ride. I was leading a group of Team in Training cyclists preparing to ride their first century next month. They have been training over the past few months and also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

We were spread out quite a bit on the descent. One of the cyclists was bumped off the road by the trailer of a pickup truck towing a boat. She was probably traveling a little over 20 mph when it happened. Obeying the rules of the road and being as accomodating to motorists as possible, she was riding close to the white painted fog line at the right side of the road. The truck refused to make any allowance for the cyclists it was passing and did not move to the left to give any clearance even though there was no oncoming traffic. We think the boat trailer contacted her, pushing her off the road and launching her from her bicycle. She later said water was thrown at her as the truck passed and that she was definitely struck by some part of the trailer. She was thrown from her bicycle into the bottom of a ditch. The bike was found laying right next to the road. That same boat trailer had brushed my shoulder on its way by me and came extremely close to one of our other
cyclists prior to reaching the victim. After my close brush, I tried to catch up to her but was quite a bit behind. Although I could see the boat dangerously close to her, I did not actually see her fall. It happened just after a left curve in the road, out of my sight.

The victim's right arm is severly injured and she is expected to undergo surgery today. She also has other less severe injuries. It will be months before she will be able to return to normal. Her husband works full time at night, and they are parents of triplet two year old children.

If anyone spots a shiny bright red late model pickup truck towing a very new looking red boat, possibly a 23 foot Centurian model, please get the license plate number and contact the Washington County police, and myself. I know it is two days after the incident, but any information will help. If the driver is caught, I would appreciate any advice from those lawyer OBRA members who have so graciously offered help in the past.

More importantly, if anyone wishes to help the victim and her family in some way, please contact me. We already have good people who have volunteered to prepare meals, grocery shop, house clean, etc. to help the husband manage the household during the long recovery.

Thank you,
John Schader
Coach, Portland Team in Training

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