Maryland Cyclist Severs Artery in Crash - Baltimore and Annapolis Trail

[B' Spokes: You know, maybe trails should get a safety audit every 10 years or so. Just as things along the road side have design standards for cars that might hit them (e.g. signs have to be high enough so when stuck by a car the sign goes over the top of the car and not through the windshield.) Tails and cyclists deserve the same consideration. A picket fence next to the trail... that alone does not sound like a great idea, was there an adequate clear zone? And there are probably other design considerations as well that should have been done.]
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SEVERNA PARK - A 59-year-old man was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after his bike crashed into a fence along Baltimore and Annapolis Trail on Tuesday afternoon.

Just after 1 p.m., when county fire and rescue personnel arrived near the ranger station at 51 W. Earleigh Heights Road, they found the man suffering from a severed artery in his left thigh, fire department spokesman Battalion Chief Steve Thompson said.

The man had been riding his bicycle on the trail and had looked down. When he looked up, he struck a split rail-fence along the trail, Thompson said.

The man's bike went through the fence. The bike's left handlebar went through the man's thigh, Thompson said.

The bicyclist was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore by ambulance.

<a href="http://www.jems.com/article/news/maryland-cyclist-severs-artery-crash">http://www.jems.com/article/news/maryland-cyclist-severs-artery-crash</a>;