Published: 9/27/2022 7:59:32 PM
Modified: 9/27/2022 7:58:39 PM
BERNARDSTON — A bicyclist was flown to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred at around 4:10 p.m. on Church Street near Cushman Library. John Bentley, an accompanying cyclist, identified the hospitalized woman as Kate Conway of Williamsville, Vermont. Bentley, Conway and several other cyclists frequent the area as part of a Brattleboro and Putney, Vermont-based biking group.
Bentley, who said he witnessed the vehicle involved driving erratically before it struck Conway, said the car had been traveling westbound along Church Street before crossing into the opposite lane, into the left breakdown lane and through roadside shrubbery. According to Bentley, the vehicle then re-entered the street, passed him and collided with Conway before coming to a stop in the library’s patio area.
Emergency response included the Bernardston Fire Department, the Bernardston Police Department, State Police and Northfield EMS.
Fire Capt. Tim Snow was one of the first to respond to the scene at around 4:13 p.m. He laid down with Conway on the road and talked her through the situation before an ambulance arrived, eventually helping her into a neck brace. Also lying beside Conway was brother and fellow cyclist Ian Conway, who rode in the ambulance to the Life Star helicopter alongside his sister.
“He almost got hit and was with her the whole time,” Bentley said.
Conway sustained a broken wrist, a broken ankle and an unknown jaw injury, and was experiencing pain in her back, head and neck as a result of the collision, according to Fire Chief Peter Shedd.
“It did look like she went head-first into the windshield of the car,” Shedd said, noting that she was conscious and “talking the whole time.”
“At this point, I’d probably say they were non-life-threatening (injuries),” Snow said, noting that Conway’s injuries were still “severe.”
At the time of the accident, Conway was wearing a helmet, which remained in place until being removed by Snow. Resident Andy Bullock, who lives across the street and heard the collision, said he came outside to investigate and found Conway’s cycling shoe in his yard roughly 25 yards from the street.
The involved vehicle, a red Jeep Cherokee Latitude, remained where it stopped until roughly 5 p.m., when it was towed by Koch’s Automotive. It had a smashed windshield. The driver, a man, was conscious and spoke to police. Before being picked up in a personal vehicle, the man declined to comment to the Greenfield Recorder.
The area of Church Street between Town Hall and the Fire Station was closed to traffic as emergency personnel worked on scene. The road reopened at around 5 p.m.
The incident is being investigated by Bernardston police, with State Police assisting with “crash reconstruction and crime scene services,” according to State Police Trooper Brandon Doherty.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.